La Rose Bleue Diabolique
by starsinjars
Summary: The Organization mistakes souls for hearts and sends No. XIII to fetch the noble heart/soul of Ciel Phantomhive. Sebastian is not amused. Slash. Possible unintentional AU-ness for both series.
1. Enter Victorian England

Title: La Rose Bleue Diabolique

Summary: The Organization mistakes souls for hearts and sends No. XIII to fetch the noble heart/soul of Ciel Phantomhive. Sebastian is not amused. Slash.

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><p>The thirteenth member of Organization XIII rose everyday at seven on the dot, to prepare for whatever mission that Saïx will assign to him for that day. Of course, he was never the first person actually there - besides Saïx and the moogle, occasionally he would find Axel, Luxord, Larxene, Xigbar, and even Demyx there as well.<p>

It seemed like an ordinary day, as ordinary as it could be in the World that Never Was as he approached the Lunar Divider for his mission for the day.

"Your assignment today, No. XIII, is to test out a certain weapon." He said, "This weapon is a weapon that only you can wield, a keyblade that releases hearts from within Somebodies. You would need to go fetch it from the ruins of Hollow Bastion first. Go to the ruins of the world and try to find the keyblade. No. VIII will accompany you and will provide more information as it needs be."

Roxas turned to find his superior behind him, hand on his shoulder. "Ready to go?"

He shrugged. "I'm ready. Let's go!"

The Flurry of Flames smiled and summoned a dark portal. He put on his hood and said, "Well then, let's go." before walking through, Roxas following after him after putting on his own hood.

After a few moments of traveling though the Corridor of Darkness, the two Nobodies found themselves in a vast room, barren except for the huge black thorn spread across the room and a dark key with a red handle on the floor.

"Guessing that's it?" Axel asked as Roxas approached the weapon and carefully picked it up from the ground.

"I… think so?" Roxas held it in his hand and slashed the air with it. It was just like a keyblade, but it didn't feel natural in his hands. "How strange, no keychain. Feels… _odd_..."

"How so?" Axel asked curiously, slightly concerned.

"I don't know… it just feels… _twisted._" He looked around for any test subjects. "Want to be my guinea pig?"

Axel laughed sarcastically. "Very funny. You know that it won't have any effect on me. Or you. Or any one of us really. Thanks but no thanks. Don't wanna risk any irreversible damage."

"Unless someone is all secret and lies. Secrets and lies and aren't actually Nobodies" Roxas narrowed his eyes at the redhead in a teasing manner as he stopped playing with the blade.

"While I'm not denying that someone in a group most likely meets those qualifications, I'm pretty sure that we're all Nobodies." Axel smirked as he stuck out his tongue at his best friend.

"Alright." Roxas put away the blade. "Where can I test this out?"

"Guess now you start the next one. Ready for this new world? It's completely different from the others." Axel muttered as he took out an envelope from his pocket.

"How so?" Roxas asked as he rejoined with his partner.

"I'm not allowed to say. Take this." Axel handed him the envelope and summoned another portal. "I'll see you when you get back." With a wave, Axel walked through the portal and left Roxas alone in the room with the strange blade and envelope.

"O…kay then." The Key of Destiny opened the envelope to find a letter as well as a folded picture.

He unfolded the photo to see a small child dressed in midnight blue, having a sort of noble look to him, sitting on a chair. He had navy blue hair, but the strangest characteristic of the child were his eyes. Or eye, supposedly. He had a sapphire eye similar but yet not to his, his left eye covered with a black eye patch hidden underneath his hair. The physical aspect of the child appears to be of age range of twelve to thirteen, but his eye were much darker, indicating he no longer had the innocence of that age and was well matured beyond his years and peers.

Behind the child was a man with raven hair and blood red eyes, covered in black, bowing slightly over the boy with a slight smirk on his face. He placed the photo in his pocket and began to read the contents inside the letter.

_The next part of this mission contains top secret information, only for the eyes of No. I, VII, and XIII._

_After receiving this information from No. VIII, take great measures to cease the existence of this letter as well as the photo. _

_We have gained vital Intel about a new World. In this new world, you will find the persons enclosed with the attached letter. Your target is the child dressed in blue, who goes under the name of Ciel Phantomhive. You are to use the weapon you have just obtained, the Keyblade of People's Hearts, against him, releasing his heart and creating a strong ally for our cause._

_Intel also notes to be wary of the man dressed in black, Sebastian Michaelis. There is something quite peculiar about this man, but we have been unable to uncover it. You are advised to avoid this person at all costs._

_Take as long and use whatever techniques you may need. After destroying the letter, burn the remains which should release a portal to this new world._

_The Superior believes that you are ready to take on this dangerous mission alone with no allies. Do not let Him as well as the rest of the Organization down._

-_ No. VII_

The lone Nobody took out the photo once again, and studied it more carefully. Even in the photo, one can tell there was something… _off_ with the pair.

He crumpled the letter in his hand and ripped it to shreds, letting the remains fall to the floor, and summoned his Oblivion. Aiming at the paper scraps, he released a fireball from its tip, sending them ablaze. The paper burned from orange red, to dark red, to blue, to purple before finally swirling the smoke and scraps together to make a portal.

He took one last look at the photo before placing it back in his pocket. "Ciel Phantomhive… What a strange mission. Never before had I been sent - _alone _- to fetch the heart of a Somebody. Hopefully this won't take too long." He walked through the portal and into the unknown.

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><p>After leaving the Corridor of Darkness, the blond finds himself in an alleyway. Feeling two pairs of eyes staring at him as he emerges from the shadows, he looks around and spots the owners.<p>

The eyes belonged to a small girl tugging on a stained pink bunny rabbit in her left and holding hands with a younger child, a boy in her right. The boy held nothing, but both of the children were wide-eyed at the sight of the Nobody. Dressed in rags, they were about the saddest things Roxas has ever seen.

"Oh, oops. Uh, hello there." Cursing internally, he fumbled as to what to say. Suddenly, he got an idea. Why not ask them for even more Intel? "I'm looking for a child named Ciel Phantomhive, do you know of him?"

"Phantomhive?" The girl called, pulling in the doll closer to her.

"We dun't know nothing about this Ciel..." The boy said, thinking. The girl jabbed him in the shoulder, causing him to look up to face her. Roxas couldn't see her expression, but suddenly the boy's changed from thoughtful to sinister.

"_Shadowman, shadowman, for info you need to pay~"_ The girl chanted, as the boy raised one hand, rubbing his fingers together.

"Of course, what else did I expect?" Roxas muttered as he took out his munny pouch. "How much?"

The children's eyes grew wide as they followed the munny sack, and started to bicker amongst themselves very quietly. Roxas caught snippets of it, mostly on the topic of how to swindle him. Roxas took back the helpless image from before, it was all an act! He sneaked away from the children and escaped the alley, finding himself in a proper setting of this new world.

After the onslaught of sunlight, the first thing the Nobody notices are the crowds of people. Not only that, but almost everyone in public had a regal look to them, slightly similar to Ciel.

Roxas deduces that whoever did the Intel really sucks at it and must not have really tried. Demyx probably. They gave him low, next to nothing information except the target's picture and name! And although they were extremely helpful, compared to a world populated such as this...

Personally, he thinks this is the most populated world he has ever been to.

Then again, there was always the characteristic of that eye patch, which should really be rare for people to have.

He realizes that he is going to stick out like a sore thumb if he stays in public, which was really against his training. But he was slightly reluctant to go back into the alleyways if those kids were waiting for him. He pulls up his black hood and walks cautiously down the street, making sure to not draw any attention to himself.

So of course it should not come to his surprise when he trips from his miss-footing. Reflexes failing him, he would have fallen down on his face to the stone road if not for the young girl who suddenly appeared in front of him and cushioned his fall.

"Oof!" Roxas was directly on top of the girl's face, causing her to blush. Dressed in a red violet dress, she had huge blonde curls and green eyes that were a lighter shade of emerald than Axel's and not quite as piercing.

She squealed before screeching, "Get off!" slapped him on the cheek and kicked under the blond, who quickly got up to his feet and rubbed his cheek.

"Ow…" He winced a bit. The girl was stronger than she looks! He reached out with his other hand to help the girl up. "Terribly sorry, miss. I wasn't paying attention -" Roxas was cut off as the air was suddenly knocked out of his lungs as he found himself in the arms of the girl, who was studying him carefully.

"Oh… my… goodness! How could I have harmed such a cute face! _I_ should be the one who is terribly sorry. Please forgive me." She rubbed and continued to study his face, causing the Nobody to shudder - a cold, unnerving feeling coming over him.

She curtsied slightly at him, smiling. "My name is Elizabeth. But please, call me Lizzy."

"Uh, Roxas. Nice to meet you?" He didn't know if he should hold out his hand to shake or bow. He ended up bowing slightly to her with a mini curtsy.

After exchanging names, Elizabeth studied him again as she said, "Look, let me properly apologize. How about you come with me and we can dine at my betrothed's manor nearby? I'm sure he won't mind!"

"That's okay, really, I'm -"

"But first, we need to get you proper clothes!" Roxas can see her eyes sparkle at the thought. This is a waste of time he could have been using to find Ciel Phantomhive. "Look, Elizabeth, really, I'm flattered, but I -" She cut him off once more. "And I won't take no for an answer!" She grabbed his hand with that strong grip of hers that no girl her age should have. "And please, call me Lizzy, I insist."

Roxas sighed in acknowledgement of his defeat as he allowed himself to be dragged along by Elizabeth.

"Well, after this I can continue my search for him. It's only one dinner party, how bad could it be?"

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><p><strong>*Cue Opening Title Sequence for the World, "Victorian England" XD*<strong>

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><p>AN:

Sorry, sorry, it just seemed like the perfect place to end off on XD So, yes. :P A slash fic between Roxas and Ciel.

Please review? :D


	2. Unevental Events

Last Time: Roxas just arrived in Victorian England with a mission to steal Ciel Phantomhive's heart. He bumps into Elizabeth Midford and is forced to attend a dinner party.

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><p>Time seemed to pass fast yet slowly at the same time as Elizabeth pulled Roxas store after store after store, pausing for only seconds at a time before she dragged him out and pulled him into another store only to repeat the process. It was a rather unusual method to get acquainted with the area, and after a number of stores that Roxas lost count of, he couldn't take it anymore.<p>

"I'm sorry, what are we doing?" he asked, trying to sound polite but stern. He was beginning to lose feeling in his hand, which simply will not do if he were to carry out his mission.

Without stopping, she answered, "We're looking for your perfect outfit! Now hurry up, we don't have all day!" With an extra strong tug, she pulled him into the newest store and gasped. "There she is! Finally!" Roxas could actually see mini twinkling of stars around her as he followed her eyes. Before he could catch a sight of whatever it was, a woman appeared in front of him and grabbed his shoulders.

"Lady Midford! Who is your _beautiful_ friend?" She purred, eyes looked up and down as she took in his frame. He shivered, getting a bad feeling about her.

She had a curly ponytail on the left side of her head, somewhat similar to Elizabeth's, and a hat on tilted on the right side of her head. She wore a tight, long-sleeved top, cut low to reveal her breasts, with a vest over top with black lace. Roxas took a peek before blushing and pulled away from her.

She just smiled at him - and he didn't like it.

"L-Lizzy…? W-who is this?" Roxas stammered out, hesitantly.

"Oh! This is my good friend, Nina Hopkins. She's _amazing_. She designs all of my clothes!"

"Indeed I did. Would you want for me to design an outfit for your… friend?" She smiled wider.

"YES!" She screamed, pushing the blond closer to her.

"Honestly even if she said no I would have done it anyway..." She muttered before clearing her throat. "Very well." She moved her hands from his shoulders to down his arms, removing one hand to take out measuring tape from her back pocket. She grinned. "This is going to be fun."

The terror was back as Roxas was dragged into a dark, fuzzy room. "Oh, Superior, why?"

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><p>"There we go, perfect!" The personal designer looked proud of her work. "This outfit brings out this innocent look that I can get from you… so clean and precious… like children should be." Her gaze was far away.<p>

"Trust her, Roxas, you look so cute!" Elizabeth squealed.

He cringed at her as well as his reflection. "W-why in the world am I in a dress?" He stammered out, face nearly crimson.

He had a complete color change as this black cloak was exchange for a collarless long sleeved snow white gown down to the floor intertwined with diamonds, giving it a Cinderella flare to it.

"Hmm… Don't like it?" Nina asked, frowning slightly.

"No!" Roxas' face was all red. "I'm a boy! Dresses are for girls!"

She grinned and muttered, "Very well. I just wanted to see for myself." She cleared her throat. "Back into the room!"

"Ahh! Noooo!" Roxas was dragged against his will, again, to the room of fabric.

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><p>Roxas tried to loosen the bow around his neck only to have the tailor tighten it to the point of choking him.<p>

"No touch!" She smacked his hand. "You are perfection, an angel. No touch!" She smacked him again.

The nobody sighed, but at least he was no longer wearing a dress.

Tied like a present, around his neck was deep sky blue ribbon, which were the only dashes of color in his outfit besides white, very light shades of blue, and just spots of gold. He wore an ivory white undershirt with a maya blue vest with gold buttons. Over the vest was a snow white jacket with matching white gloves with pure white shorts high above the knees, barely covering his ass, intertwined with sparkling diamonds that changed color depending on the angle of the light. He blushed as he covered himself, wanting to keep his modesty.

"This is _way _too much effort for one little apology." He muttered, face a rose color. He wanted to get this mission over with already and this was just a waste of valuable time.

"Can you lower the shorts?" To his surprise, Elizabeth was dissatisfied with his appearance. "It's too short! Not modest enough!" she exclaimed, pushing him to the tailor once more.

Said tailor gasped. "What? This is the fashion of the future!" She sighed again. "Very well. The customer is always right, even when she's wrong." She pulled the blond back into the fabric room to readjust his outfit once more.

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><p>"You looked cute before, but this is way better! Perfect! Just marvelous as always, Nina." Elizabeth said as soon as her eyes spotted Roxas' revised outfit, which was the exact same one as before, except the shorts have been lowed to be just slightly above his knee. She smiled at the pair and she took a glance at the clock before gasping.<p>

"We better get going! Just put it on my tab!" She grabbed the nobody's hand and dashed out of the store.

"Come back anytime, my lady. You and your cute friend." Roxas saw her wink before leaving to nearly crash into Elizabeth from suddenly stopping.

"Lady Elizabeth! Where have you been?" A woman of brown hair and eyes approached the pair, gasping and sweaty. She took a deep breath before speaking a slur of words that was quite difficult to understand.

"I have been looking everywhere for you! I've been to various stories, and they say they spotted you for only seconds before disappearing! I was so worried! We're running late! We have to leave now if we're ever going to make it on time!" She pointed out to a carriage on the road before quickly escorting the pair to said carriage, getting inside, and were on the move to… wherever they were going, since the Nobody didn't know.

"So, where are we going?" He asked Elizabeth to watch the eyes of the woman from before move to the Nobody.

"Who's your friend?" She asked.

"Oh dear! I'm terribly sorry, Paula! I got all caught up in all this that I forgot about you!" Elizabeth apologized before pulling Roxas closer to her. "This is Roxas, whom I have invited to our dinner party. Well, not necessarily a dinner party, but we're all going to see Ciel! I even bought him some more cute outfits! Do you think he'll wear them?"

"Perhaps this time, my lady." Paula smiled at her, while Roxas frowned in thought. He caught wind of the name mentioned and turned to the blonde. "Ciel?"

"Oh, yes! I never actually told him about you, did I?" Elizabeth turned to him. "I think I have a picture of him somewhere… Here!" She reached for a small handbag that seemed to have appeared out of nowhere and took out an exact copy of the picture that Roxas had in his own pocket.

"This is Ciel, my fiancée!" She pointed to the one in blue, and Roxas noticed a dreamy look in her eyes. "And Sebastian, his butler!" She pointed to the one in black, slightly frowning, dreamy look gone.

"Uh huh." It seemed like this wasn't such a waste of time after all. That dreamy look however… "So, do you care for him?"

She started to blush. "But of course! We are betrothed to be wed! I've actually loved him all my life, we're cousins and childhood friends, you know." The dreamy look was back as she murmured, "I _love _him."

This caused Roxas to be silent.

He was a Nobody, he didn't know what love was supposed to be like. But it was obvious that Lady Elizabeth Midford was in love with her fiancée, Ciel Phantomhive.

"So, Roxas, tell me about yourself." Elizabeth put away her photo along with her dreamy look and looked at her guest, who froze.

He didn't want to lie to this person. She was very kind to him, buying him clothes and bringing him to his target. Besides, wasn't he going to technically kill her fiancée?

Unable to think of anything to say, he looked down and stammered, "U-uh... w-why don't _you_ tell me about _your_self?"

"Little old me?" Elizabeth pointed to herself. "Lady Elizabeth Midford, fiancée of Earl Ciel Phantomhive and lover of all things cute. Which includes you, by the way. You look so _cute_ in your white outfit. It's going to be totally worth it! Honestly I can't wait for you to meet Ciel, I'm sure you'll get along very well!" She beamed at him, causing Roxas to weakly smile.

"I'm not so sure… Why don't you tell me about your fiancée?" Roxas asked, not knowing how to respond to that.

"Ciel?" Elizabeth frowned. "Oh, well, I don't know. It's really his personal business."

Roxas shied back, "Oh, I'm sorry. I didn't mean to impose."

She grinned at him. "It's okay! Really, Ciel is such a sweet boy! He's so kind and caring, and it's just one of the many aspects of the reasons why I love him so much!" Roxas winced, which she noticed. "Huh, what's wrong?"

Roxas smiled softly at her. "Oh, it's just that I'm not used to being with… people such as yourself."

"What do you mean? You're not with girls often?" She asked, confused.

The Nobody left out a chuckle as he thought of the only girls in the Organization; the complete opposite of her, and the other he couldn't say since he didn't know her that well. "Well, yes, that too. But not often am I with people who are so carefree and happy."

Elizabeth smiled sadly at him. "I have my reasons." And with that last statement, the carriage stopped.

Roxas peered out the carriage window to find the carriage in front of a huge mansion, circled by a beautiful green garden with various varieties of flowers with water fountains. Its stature was held proudly towards the sky, and while it was not a castle, it was quite impressive. Never before has Roxas seen a building such as this.

"Woah..." Roxas was wide-eyed at the scene.

"Come! It's almost time for supper!" Elizabeth, happiness and vigor returning, grabbed Roxas' hand and pulled him out the carriage and to the front mahogany doors, Paula following behind at a safe distance.

Just as their footsteps touched the front porch, the doors opened, and the Key of Destiny immediately stiffened as he caught the image of the one clad in black, the one he was supposed to avoid over the course of this mission, of the one called Sebastian Michaelis in the flesh. His eyes were closed, mouth curled into a tight smile, and he bowed slightly at the visitors of the Phantomhive manor.

"Lady Elizabeth." His voice sounded like red velvet as the Nobody immediately froze in place. The butler rose from his bow, still smiling and eyes were closed as he turned to Roxas. "Whomever is your young friend?" He bent down close to the blond, who flinched under his faux gaze, which shortly turned real as Roxas stared at his blood red eyes almost exactly depicted in the photo.

"Sebastian, this is my cousin from my mother's side of the family, very far who came to visit. His name is Roxas. This is his first time in London, and I decided that he just _had_ to accompany me to meet the rest of the family." Elizabeth smiled sweetly as Roxas looked at her, confused.

"Right, Roxas?" She turned to him, still smiling.

"Oh, uh, yes, um, cousin." Roxas moved behind her to avoid the piecing stare of the butler. He just couldn't get out of the butler's red gaze. He began to think he was visibly shaking at this point, and looked to Elizabeth for support. She was still smiling, but the smile was beginning to wane as the seconds ticked by.

After what seemed to have been an eternity, Sebastian stated, "Where ever are my manners? Please, do come in, Lady and Lord Midford. We have been expecting you." He bowed again.

"Welcome to the Phantomhive manor."

The butler moved out of the way to allow the pair to enter.

If the manor on the outside was impressive, the interior was just as exquisite. Marble floor, marble columns, marble stairs… the carpet reminded the nobody of Sebastian because he was sure that it was made of velvet. The curtains appeared and _were_ silky to the touch, and there were various hanged paintings on the wall. Pictures of people, flowers, the scenery. There were various trinkets all over the place - statues, vases, grandfather clocks - all organized in a neat manner.

All in all, in Axel's terms, the place just _oozed _money.

"… Wow…" Was the only thing that he could say.

"This is nothing; you should have seen the place when I decorated it. It looked _sooo _much cuter!" Elizabeth commented. "I'll do it again, and you can come!"

Roxas could have sworn that by the end of the day, he would be blinded by her hyperactive personality. Never before has be met someone like her. It was beginning to scare him, being out of his comfort zone. Before he could get in another word, they were soon greeted an assortment of people.

"Hey, guys, Lady Elizabeth has arrived!" An older man wearing an apron with a cigarette in his mouth said before taking out his cigarette and tossing it in the trash.

"Lady Elizabeth!" A young man with short blond hair with clips with a hat called.

"Who is your guest, my lady?" A young woman dressed in a maid outfit and having large glasses asked.

"Ho, ho, ho!" An old man sitting on his knees on a pillow holding what Roxas believes to be tea - or at least a hot beverage from the steam rising from it - commented.

"Why hello, Bard, Finny, Mey-Rin! Oh, and Tanaka too!" Elizabeth beamed at them. "This is Roxas, my distant cousin coming all the way from… America."

"America?" Finny asked.

"Wow!" Mey-Rin commented.

"I was unaware of the fact that you had family overseas, Elizabeth." A new voice entered the room as everyone else in the room was silenced as a young man dressed in dark green descended down the stairs and into the lobby.

Elizabeth started to pout. "Ciel! I thought I told you to call me Lizzy!"

He approached her and took her hand. "Thank you for coming." He kissed it before dropping it and turned to Roxas. "I am pleased to meet your acquaintance, Roxas Midford. Welcome to the Phantomhive manor."

Roxas spotted the eye patch as the young man continued to speak, "I don't know if you know of me, but I am Earl Ciel Phantomhive, fiancé of your cousin Elizabeth." He bowed slightly to Roxas.

Ciel Phantomhive. His target. Fiancée of Elizabeth Midford and in the possession of a rather strong heart, whose nobody should, in theory, be a rather strong ally in the master plan of the Organization to obtain Kingdom Hearts to obtain their own. Seems simple enough. His target was right in front of him. What's stopping him from fulfilling his mission and RTC'ing?

Well, there was the fact that Elizabeth, the one who was kind to show him around town was there. And to an extent, that strange butler. He wasn't so worried about the other servants but one could never be to he were to strike now, the consequences would be dire.

He had a feeling that this was going to be harder than he thought.

"The pleasure is all mine, Earl Phantomhive." Roxas bowed back, even lower, and moved back to give the target and his fiancée personal room, which caused him to back up into Sebastian.

"Roxas, you can just call him Ciel. Right, Ciel?" She turned to her betrothed. He just smiled sweetly at her, "But of course." but Roxas could see in his eyes said otherwise.

"Young Master, dinner is ready." The voice curled into Roxas' ear as he jumped and moved back to Elizabeth.

"I need not ask for I assume that you have set up a place for Elizabeth's cousin as well?" Ciel called, escorting his fiancée to the dining room, Roxas following at a safe distance.

"But of course. What kind of butler would I be if I did not do such a thing?" Sebastian bowed before following them at a distance that Roxas didn't deem safe enough. The only sounds that could be heard besides the footsteps were Elizabeth's ramblings about cute things she bought for him, which were left unanswered by Ciel.

When they entered the huge dining room, as it was there were three sets of silverware for the three nobles to dine, with the servants from earlier out of sight. Ciel took a seat at the head of the table. Elizabeth was smiling when she took a seat next to her lover before she turned back to her 'cousin'. "Roxas? You okay? You seem so stiff." Roxas didn't know where to sit, but when Elizabeth signaled that he was to sit across from her, he cleared his throat and made his way there. "Stiff? I'm not stiff, why ever would you say such a thing?" He answered a bit too fast.

"Is my butler bothering you?" Ciel asked, sounding polite and annoyed at the same time. "Sebastian, leave us and keep out of Lord Midford's sight."

"Yes, my lord." The butler bowed once more before leaving the room. "I shall return to serve you all." As Sebastian left the room, Roxas let out a sigh of relief, which was followed by a giggle from Elizabeth and a smirk from Ciel.

"Oh, don't worry, you get used to him! Really, Sebastian is amazing! Just wait until you try his cooking!" Elizabeth beamed.

"Ah ha…" Roxas looked down at his gloved hands and removed the white gloves, ignoring the gazes and stares he was getting from his company. Elizabeth was just too peppy for Roxas' liking. It was beginning to become annoying.

"So, Roxas, tell me about yourself." Ciel said in what Roxas feels to be a commanding tone.

"Me?" He squeaked before taking a glance at Elizabeth, who smiled before turning to the Earl. She whispered, not knowing that Roxas could hear, "Roxas and I aren't really related; he's just a friend of mine. However, he's unconscious of talking about himself, so…"

Said friend cleared his throat. "I can talk about myself!" He wasn't going to be introduced to his target, by a girl no less. Not to be sexist or anything, but only now does Roxas realize what little girls there are in the Organization. "Roxas… I, uh, don't really have a last name-"

"Just use mine!" Elizabeth interrupted.

"Roxas Midford then." He became silent. "Uh, I don't know what else to say."

"How about you tell me about you and Elizabeth met?" Ciel tried, ignoring the "Lizzy!" that Elizabeth insisted she be called.

"Oh, okay. Well, actually, we just met today." He said quietly. "I'm, uh, new to town and I accidentally crashed into her."

"Family?" Ciel asked, not really caring. Which Roxas thinks is rude, because he's the one who asked him about this information, but that question he didn't understand.

"Family? What's that?" Roxas asked, confused.

This snapped Ciel to attention as Elizabeth helped, "Family. You know, your parents?"

"I… don't think I have those…" Not much does Roxas remember of his birth. Then again, he was a Nobody, so he's pretty sure that his birth is very different from Somebodies. Was the parent his Somebody? He should ask Axel later.

"Oh my gosh, Roxas!"Elizabeth stood up from the table, ran across and pulled Roxas into a hug. "It's okay! I'll make my family adopt you! You look like a nobleman, are shy like one, and sound like one. We can do this!"

Roxas and Ciel stayed silent as Elizabeth started to ramble on how to make Roxas a true Midford when the doors opened quietly and Sebastian arrived, balancing two trays and pushing a small cart. Ciel's gaze rose to his butler's, a sly smirk creeping on his face. Roxas turned to follow his gaze and was surprised to see no black butler there.

"Elizabeth, get back to your seat." Ciel said, sounding annoyed as a middle sized bowl filled with an orange colored substance suddenly appeared in front of the three.

"In front of you, you have a slightly chilled pumpkin soup with a vegetable medley puree. Enjoy." Sebastian's voice called before the doors closed, leaving the children to their own devices.

The rest of the meal's menu consisted of a braised lamb short rib with a red-wine based sauce, and a desert with a name that Roxas didn't understand the swirl of the letters that came from the butler's mouth, but was basically chocolate cake.

Both of the men were quiet throughout the whole dinner, with Roxas meekly keeping his face down and Ciel just nodding as Elizabeth continued with her plan to adopt Roxas.

Throughout the whole dinner, never once did Sebastian appear in Roxas' line of vision. Not even when he served the food to the assassin or the company.

After the dinner, Ciel guided his guests to the parlor room, and there was only a flash of lightning before the curtains closed by themselves, as if by magic.

"Sebastian." Elizabeth muttered under her breath for Roxas to hear.

They all took a seat near the fireplace, which was already lit, and the pouring rain from the outside became a dull noise in the background. Elizabeth began to hum, before Paula suddenly entered the room, giving Elizabeth a look. The Lady gasped before excusing herself from the room, stating she would be right back.

Leaving the two children by themselves. Which Roxas was painfully aware of, staring into the fire. Vaguely, he wondered how Axel was doing.

"She's not coming back." Ciel commented, eye lazily following his cousin leave the room before turning back to the Nobody, eye frowning as he couldn't meet with his gaze.

The Key of Destiny planned in his head. _Now's the time, now's the moment._ He could RTC, which will hopefully work, since he had been practicing. Not that anyone would believe him, his element being light and all. He could summon his new blade right now and there would be no witnesses. Elizabeth was gone, she wouldn't see anything.

_But what about Sebastian?_

"Does my butler bother you?" Roxas was brought back from his internal scheming to find the young master addressing him, expression unreadable.

Roxas decided that Sebastian was really a great butler, following his master order down to the wire. Internally thanking the divine powers that he wasn't a butler of the Organization, he answered, "I'm fine now, thank you for taking my opinions in the matter, Earl Phantomhive."

The lord flinched slightly. "Just call me Ciel. Elizabeth requested it, and who am I to deny her?

"She was right, you really are a kind person. I suppose this is what they mean when they say not to judge a book by its cover." Roxas commented out loud.

"I beg your pardon?" Ciel sounded confused, which caused Roxas to smile.

"Appearance wise, you look like a harsh person, very critical of the world." Ciel smirked at the description, which slightly fell when Roxas continued, "But on the inside, you really are a kind person who cares about others."

Ciel was silent at this comment, watching Roxas' gentle, _sincere_ smile.

"… I see…" The Earl choked out, coughing a little. He cleared his throat. "Tell me, Roxas, how old are you? I would throw out an age, but I do not wish to insult you."

"Oh, it's fine. Uh… I suppose I look like I'm fourteen, fifteen-ish. Around there." He figured saying that he was less than a year old would be quite suspicious.

"So you look. How old are you exacty?" Ciel pressed.

"Uhh… fifteen, I suppose." Roxas coughed at the topic. It was not often does he speak of age. "How old are you? Fourteen?"

"Actually, I am thirteen years of age."

"… Really? I pegged you for older. You look so, so…" Roxas struggled to find a word to express what he meant.

_Broken, scarred, damaged, corrupted, sinner…_

"Mature?" Ciel supplied.

"…That could work."

"You wouldn't mind if Sebastian was in the room, would you?" Roxas snapped out of his thoughts and shook his head, and Ciel clapped his hands. Sebastian appeared in seconds right next to the lord, which slightly frightened the Nobody. "You called, young master?"

"Yes, it's getting late. Please set up a room for Lord Midford. I am pretty sure that Elizabeth has already retired for the night." Ciel ordered dully.

Sebastian smiled. "It has already been done, my lord."

"Very well. I will escort myself to my room." He turned to his guest. "Good night, Lord Roxas. I will see you in the morning."

"Just Roxas is fine. Thank you, Ciel." He bowed to the young Earl, who just waved him away.

"This way, Lord Roxas. It will take about three minutes." Holding a candelabra, Sebastian led him to the room, an awkward silence between them.

While he would have wished to plan ahead, somehow he couldn't think of anything while under Sebastian full attention. As they approached the door, the Nobody thought he could get more Intel himself. And why not from the butler himself?

"Uh, Sebastian?" Roxas asked hesitantly. At the sound of his master's guest's voice, the butler halted before turning around. "Yes, Lord Midford?"

"Would you happen to know where, uh, my cousin and her betrothed are staying?"

"My master will be staying in his master bedroom, which is a left hallway from your room, the last door on the right. Lady Elizabeth will be on the other side of the manor, on the right wing. I strongly suggest you don't go to see her, as there is a high possibility that you will get lost and no one will be there to help guide you, as the other servants are retired for the evening." Sebastian opened the pacific cherry door to reveal a rather large room color schemed various shades of red with a large canopy bed, accompanied with a closet, various lamps, a desk, another door which Roxas assumes to be a personal bathroom.

"…I see. Thank you." Roxas stepped inside and turned to find Sebastian bowing slightly. "I wish you pleasant dreams, Lord Midford." He closed the doors and Roxas couldn't hear his footsteps, but knew that he was leaving to attend to his own master.

After waiting a few moments, Roxas quietly and slowly opened the door and peeked outside. Finding no one there, he quietly exited the room and followed Sebastian's directions to the Ciel's room.

As he approached, he heard voices, so he hid behind a vase and eavesdropped on the young Earl Phantomhive and his butler. He peaked around for a small opening near the area of the master bedroom so that he was able to spy on the conversation.

"What do you think about Elizabeth's 'cousin'?" The butler's smooth voice made the Nobody shiver.

"A highly suspicious character." The sound of Ciel's tone was completely different from earlier. It was hard, harsh, calculating.

"Oh?" The butler sounded amused.

"Well, of course he's not Elizabeth's cousin. That much was obvious from the moment he stepped foot on the doorstep. I slightly wished they wouldn't have admitted it to me; I would have been able to toss them out. However, I'm glad now." Roxas made a small gasp before coving his mouth as Ciel paused, as if in thought. "Under questioning… it became even more suspicious. He didn't have a last name, gave his age according to appearance, and..."

"Yes, young master?"

"He..." Ciel shook his head. "Doesn't matter. Anyway, pass me the letter."

Sebastian removed a letter from his pocket, and handed the young Earl an envelope.

"_There are mysterious creatures, a blend of silver, white, and black, that have been attacking our citizens in the dead of the night, causing them to disappear without explanation. Please investigate this matter to maintain the safety of our people._"

"Mysterious creatures, huh?" Ciel asked, giving a look to his butler. Sebastian returned the gaze. "I have not heard of such creatures. Perhaps when I see them, I will recognize them."

"That's what the Queen says." He put away the letter. "Suspicious, isn't it? This man appears out of nowhere. Perhaps they are related? Although the chances are quite slim… Meh." He shrugged before tossing the letter to his bedside. "What is your opinion of Roxas? Were you able to get any information on him?"

"He is a most curious one, I would say. Never before have I come across a creature such as he."

Ciel's eyes narrowed. "Creature?"

Sebastian's lips curled. "As sharp as ever, young master. Yes. He is not a human, or at least not a human in the sense of the word."

"Explain."

"My lord, I do not sense a soul from him."

There was a silence as both of the Victorian men contemplated on the statement, while Roxas started to breathe harshly. Oh shit. He was caught. Wait, he said 'heart', right?

He jumped when he heard Ciel harshly laugh. "Don't be ridiculous, Sebastian. How is that even possible? Perhaps it has just been a long day. We can visit the Undertaker tomorrow to see the bodies, if any. Leave me."

Sebastian bowed. "Yes, my lord. Good night."

"Get out." Ciel waved him away, gaze on the letter.

Sebastian turned from his master, who sighed before looking out the window, deep in thought. The Nobody held his breath as he sneaked back to his room, being extra careful to make no noise. After arriving back in his room, he exhaled and took a deep breath.

Tonight. He will do the deed tonight, when everyone was asleep. It would be painless - the Earl of Phantomhive wouldn't feel a thing. He will see his sweet dreams before becoming a heartless/nobody. As soon as the Nobody was formed, they would RTC immediately.

He hadn't been able to test out the blade… would it still work? He took a glance at the grandfather clock. It was three to eleven.

Deciding that he needed to test it out, he opened a window and sneaked away, heading towards the city to find someone to be his guinea pig. He hoped that he could catch someone doing wrong; he really didn't want to hurt any innocent people.

He jumped out the window, landed safely on his feet, then quickly dashed off to the dirt road. Strange, he could have sworn it was raining before. Before he could get very far, however, he heard a noise.

"Oi!"

The thirteen member of Organization XIII halted, frozen in his tracks, as he turned around.

"It's you!" "So true!"

"Crap." Roxas muttered. It was those kids he met when he first arrived. They started to giggle before narrowing their eyes and approached the blond, their smiles giving him the chills.

"_Where'd ya go, shadowman, we weren't able to play! Where in the world is the money at, you promised you would pay!_" The girl sang, her sharp voice scratching Roxas' ears.

"How long have you been doing that? Swindling people from their money? Did you even know any information?"

The children laughed, taking out hidden knives from underneath their clothes. "Obviously you aren't from around here." The boy commented, his grey eyes piercing Roxas. "Life's hard for us, we can't do nuthin'! So give us our money!" He held the knife threatening, as if he has done it before.

Roxas went wide-eyed for a second before sighing. "You… threaten people? Have you killed?"

They sneered at him. "You gutta do whatcha gutta do. If you ain't gunna pay…" They moved to him, and the boy lunged at him, knife raised high into the air.

Roxas quickly moved out of the way, summoned his new keyblade, and stabbed the child in the heart. There was an explosion of light as the heart escaped the body, and the child disappeared into a sparkle of light. Quickly, Roxas did the same action with the girl, who dropped her bunny in the process. She was gone before the stuffed toy touched the ground, knives clanging on the dirt.

"It's moments like these that I'm glad I'm not a Somebody." Roxas commented as he stashed the blade away. It seemed painless, neither child screamed in agony as their heart left their body. It wouldn't hurt the young Earl one bit.

Satisfied with his test run, he made his way back to the manor, shivering. He looked back, but saw nothing. "Man, I'm getting paranoid. I can't wait till I get home." He continued on his way, not noticing the pair of blood red eyes watching his form as he sneaked back into his room.

* * *

><p>As soon as the Nobody got back into the room, he glanced at the clock. "Oh, that didn't take too long." It was only eight past eleven. "I'm not quite sure if anyone's awake…" He said out loud in over to overcome the somewhat strange silence.<p>

While he was used to silence, welcoming it even, it was slightly unnerving to be in silence while on an assassination mission.

At that moment, there was a knock on the door. Roxas froze, climbed into bed before calling, "Who is it?"

There was no answer as Elizabeth, dressed in a very silky, lacy outfit that was rather revealing for a fourteen year old, burst into the room, followed by her maid Paula, carrying various packages in various sizes.

"I said I was going to be right back, and when I come back, Sebastian tells me you two already retired for bed! How could you do this to me?" She cried as Paula closed the door after her, running up to Roxas for a hug, who got out of bed to greet her. He stood awkwardly as she squeezed him tightly, and after several minutes she let him go while Paula placed the packages near his bed.

"Anyway, I got you some more clothes! I figure that you wouldn't want to wear the same clothes to bed." She grabbed a package and uncovered it, revealing a pair of black silk pajamas with various stitching of silver within the fabric. Which reminded Roxas of a rather important factor.

"Umm, Lizzy? Where's my cloak?"

"Cloak? What cloak?" There was a silence as Elizabeth recalled what he was talking about. "Oh! That cloak! Hmm, I'm assuming that it's with Nina, since we forgot to pick it up… Or maybe it's in a bunch of the clothes I got you! That's why I was gone for so long, you know? I went back to see Nina for some more clothes! She was rather upset that I couldn't bring you, but don't worry! I'm sure that it's here, somewhere… Do you think she made it into a cute outfit?" She trailed off as Paula returned with several more boxes and leaving to fetch some more. "But who cares about that! Put these on!" She threw him the sleep garments and shoved him into the private washroom to change.

He only had three seconds of silence before Elizabeth banged on the door. "Hurry!"

"Okay! Give me a second!" He called before muttering, "Geez, it was just like the Organization orientation." He threw off his clothes carefully to make sure it didn't get damaged, and put on the pjs. Under his touch, it had the same texture as his cloak, with a silky velvet feel to it. Just as he finished buttoning the last silver button, Elizabeth burst into the room.

"Oh my gosh! I knew you would look so cute!" She squealed as she grabbed the keyblade bearer's hand and led him out of the room. "Look, Paula!"

"Excellent choice as always, my lady." Paula curtsied.

"I am always right, aren't I?" The Lady beamed. She pushed Roxas to the bed, and was about to follow after him when a voice entered.

"So you are the cause of all this racket. Do you have any idea as to what time it is?"

"Ciel! Ahh!" Elizabeth screeched before dashing out of the room, clutching her chest, Paula dashing after her, exclaiming, "My lady!"

Ciel and Roxas watched them go before the Earl gave a sigh. Roxas nodded, still watching where Elizabeth just was. "T-thanks..." He thanked as Ciel said, "…I wish to apologize from the behavior of my cousin. She can be quite annoying at times." Roxas shook his head. "It's fine, I'm just not used to it."

"I was just passing by, and I couldn't help but ratify the noise." Ciel stood near the door, eyes calculating, dressed in a long shirt, with a frilly lace on the collar.

"Of course." Roxas picked himself up from the bed and followed Ciel as he walked down the hallway. Roxas' hand twitched as moved closer to the Earl, who was beginning to speak. "You're not from around here, aren't you?"

Roxas gave some space, looking around for any sign of Sebastian. "No, I would suppose not."

"Where are you from?"

"… I'm not quite sure." Roxas answered honestly. He was never actually told where he came from, the first week of his existence was quite fuzzy. All he really remembered about that week was that he acted like a zombie.

"… I see." Ciel closed his eyes as he halted right in front of his room. "Thank you for your time, I'm sorry to lead you out here. I know it's late and all." He opened the door slightly. "Good night, Roxas."

"Oh, good night, Ciel." He smiled as Ciel began to make his way inside. "It was a pleasure to meet you." He whispered as he summoned the keyblade and raised it high into the air.

Ciel turned at the flash of light and eye went wide at the sight of the sword about to fall on him.

At the sight of Ciel's visible eye, Roxas saw fear and terror. He was about to feint the hit before the target gasped, "Sebastian!"

Roxas felt a dull throb on the back of his neck, losing focus and strength in his grip. He fell down like a ton of bricks, sword disappearing in a flash of light as he hit the floor. The only sound of Ciel panting could be heard as Sebastian appeared by his side, slightly frowning.

"That was a close one, young master." The butler commented. "Are you alright?"

Ciel took deep breaths to calm himself before answering his demon butler, "Yes, fine." He narrowed his eyes at the assassin.

"What should I do with him?" Sebastian asked as he picked up the blond.

"Just… just put him in his room. Don't tell anyone of this. Clearly something strange is afoot, and he is a part of it. It's too soon to make connections between this and the queen's request. Not enough information. However…" He eyed the unconscious Nobody. "Perhaps he could provide some."

"Are you alright, young master?"

Ciel's voice was even as he answered, "I'm fine. Now shut up and put him in his room, that's an order."

"Yes, my lord." Sebastian bowed as he carried Roxas to his room. Ciel sighed as he watched them walk away and entered his room as the darkness enveloped them. He rubbed the cursed ring on his thumb before taking it off and placing it on his bedside table, and tucked himself into bed.

"Has no memory of his family, or family at all, isn't from England, can summon swords from light… probably a sword master..." Ciel mumbled to himself out loud while taking off his eye patch, revealing the contract symbol on his eye. "Sebastian also said he doesn't have a soul… How is that even possible?" He faced the window and watched the moonlight creep into his room before he closed his eyes.

"Young master, I have done as you have ordered." Sebastian's voice entered the room as a slight door click was heard.

"Sebastian, how is it possible that he doesn't have a soul? Isn't he human?" Ciel asked.

"I do not believe that he is a true human. All humans have souls, and he does not have one. He is also able to summon swords from nothing."

Summon swords of nothing? Now he was even more confused. "How is that even possible… does he know?"

"Young master, do you perhaps pity him?" Sebastian's tone was strange.

Ciel shot up out of bed and narrowed his eyes where Sebastian stood. "Of course I don't. I'm just concerned as to how this to do with the queen's request…" He lowered himself back on his bed, hand on his left eye and sighed.

"Young master, it's quite late. Why don't you go to bed?" Sebastian suggested, suddenly at his bed, fixing the sheets and helping his master get comfortable under the covers.

Ciel was silent as Sebastian performed his butler duties and closed his eyes once more, fallen asleep.

Sebastian smiled sweetly at his meal and left him to his rest. He closed the bedroom doors before frowning. "Those children lost their souls with that strange blade… That was very close. If he had not called my name…" He sighed to himself. "Why does my young master always get into situations like these?"

* * *

><p>AN: Lol, there ya go :) I have no idea how long this is going to take... We'll see. ;)


	3. Tea Time

Last Time: Roxas meets the Phantomhive household, and attempts to finish his mission after that somewhat uneventful dinner party. Don't worry, though, because Ciel was able to call Sebastian before he was in any real danger. Deciding that he wants to figure out what Roxas' deal is, he spares his life. I'm sorry, I don't know how else to briefly summarize what happened. A bunch of other stuff happened, but yeah. Who's even reading this?

* * *

><p>The thirteenth member of Organization XIII didn't wake up at seven on the dot on his first morning of this strange new world. Rather, he woke up when the sunlight streaming from the window was high enough to hit his face, causing him to move to cover his eyes from the light.<p>

As a new sense of awareness came over the Nobody, he flashed open his eyes and shot out of bed, gasping as he checked his body for any injuries. He didn't find any, but that was understandable because Vexen had been researching the healing capabilities of nobodies. It has been confirmed that Nobodies do indeed have a faster recovery rate than Somebodies, but there has been no discovery as to why this occurs. He believes it has to do with the fact that they do not have hearts, but was never truly definite.

He took a glance at the grandfather clock in his room, which told him that it was thirty-eight past one in the afternoon.

_What… happened last night?_

Near the bed, he noticed that there was a package - one that he was sure Elizabeth gave him yesterday, along with a note. He unwrapped himself from the covers, which he was wrapped in pretty deeply in, got out of the bed and walked to the package. He removed the note, and started to read.

_Roxas! Good morning! You just seemed so tired yesterday; I decided to let you sleep in! I hope that you don't mind, but you might need to stay with Ciel for the next couple of days. I asked him, and he said that it was okay! I need to go to town for various reasons that I cannot truly explain, at least not yet anyway, but I'll be back! Soon you'll become a real Midford! _

_Love, Lizzy _

_P.S. In this package is the outfit I would like for you to wear today, and the rest of your wardrobe is in, well, the wardrobe! I already coordinated everything! All you have to do is pick! Have fun! I'm sure you'll look adorable in anything!_

Roxas sighed before placing the note on the desk. This mission was most likely going to take more time than he thought. He unwrapped the package to find deep purple shorts that would come up slightly above the knee accompanied with a matching colored vest. Along came a white collared long sleeved chemise with black buttons, decorated with various stitching of silver intertwined within the outfit. Along with the top portion came a lilac shaded ribbon as a collar, and a mini top hat with an embellished purple rose adorned with purple hydrangeas. At the bottom of the box, there were black shoes with a slight heel to it and long navy socks.

Roxas looked at the full lengthened mirror beside the desk, to the new clothes, to his reflection. At least it wasn't decorated with purple amethysts. He had to admit, of all his missions, never before had he thought he would ever have the chance to wear such fancy clothes. It was slightly unnerving, because he didn't truly belong here.

"Now… how in the world am I supposed to put this on?" He muttered to himself, wishing that he wasn't in a dark room when Nina dressed him.

He managed to unbutton his top and pulled it off. It fell to the red carpeted floor when he heard a noise. At the sound of a knock at the door, Roxas turned and called, "Come in," immediately regretting it because he was practically half dressed. He dropped the box and dashed under the covers, glad for his fast reflexes. He peered from underneath as the door opened and Sebastian walked in, expression blank. His eyes scanned the room before finding the blond watching him from under the covers, and the blank expression became one of amusement.

Roxas could have sworn that he was going to lose his somewhat pitiful existence in just a matter of moments. He failed in his task to release the heart of the butler's master, Ciel Phantomhive. He was a dead Nobody.

… So then why was he still alive, awakened not by pain but by the gentle entrance of sunlight? Not floating in the cold, eternal abyss of darkness but rather on this fluffy bed, warm and still quite… _alive_?

Actually, where _do _the Nobodies go when destroyed? Do they return to darkness or do they just fade into nothingness, never supposed to exist in the first place?

How in the worlds was he still able to ask himself these questions and not gone at this very second?

Seemingly knowing that the Nobody was having an internal crisis within himself, the butler cleared his throat. At the sound of Sebastian clearing his throat, Roxas snapped out of his thoughts and jumped slightly, which made the blood red eyes laugh in amusement.

"Good afternoon, Lord Roxas. Since you are awake, the young master has requested that you join him for tea." His tone was crisp and clear, but there was a sense of tension in the air as Roxas looked down at his hands, refusing to make eye contact.

"O-oh… I-is that so?" He turned back to the box, contents now on the floor.

Sebastian followed his gaze and spotted the box as well. "Lord Roxas, could it be that you do not know how to dress yourself?" He smiled a wide grin as he turned back to the nobody, whose face was positively red. "No! I can! Just… not clothes like these…" He choked out, eyes on the bed.

"Would you perhaps like some assistance?" The tone of mockery was heavy in the butler's voice, and it made the assassin uncomfortable. His senses were screaming danger, and after a couple of missions he realized that he should go with his senses.

"Uh, no, it's okay, I'll figure it out. Don't you have your young master to attend to?" He asked, wanting him to leave so that he could, at the very least, figure out the clothes himself without any prying eyes. And perhaps plan some more on how to finish his mission.

"You have read the note from Lady Elizabeth, have you not?" A smile curled onto Sebastian's lips as Roxas nodded. "My young master has ordered me to attend to your needs to make your stay at the Phantomhive manor most enjoyable. As a guest who will be staying here for the next couple of days, it will be in your best interests to learn how to dress. If need be, I could help you dress every morning of your stay."

"No, no, no, no, no, no, no. No." Roxas shook his head. "I'm fine, I can do this." He got up from his position, but took the blanket with him, feeling self-conscious. "You just… uh…" He tried to take a hold of the white shirt while being wrapped in the white sheet, but was having a great difficulty doing so.

Suddenly, the Nobody was spinning as he found himself in Ciel Phantomhive's butler's arms, holding him gently as if he was a delicate piece of artwork.

"I insist, let me teach you how to dress at the very least."

In a matter of moments, the sheet was removed from the blond's grip, revealing his lean and lithe frame as Sebastian gingerly held out his arms and carried them into the sleeves of the white blouse before quickly buttoning the cuffs as well as the front, leaving the first button unbuttoned. Roxas felt his chest become slightly restricted as the tight purple vest was buttoned over the white shirt, a slight press on his chest as Sebastian's hand smoothed over the flaps. He felt himself being steadied with one arm as he blushed as the butler's steady, gloved hands removed his bottom pants and quickly replaced them with the shorts, before pulling up the long socks and was suddenly tying his shoes.

Roxas blinked only once as he found himself seated on the bed as Sebastian tightened the lilac ribbon around his neck.

"Wha…?"

"Do not worry, Lord Roxas. I will help you every morning, until you get the hang of it." He smiled at the Nobody, who looked down at his new outfit and gasped. He looked at the clock and exclaimed, "That was only two seconds!"

Sebastian softly placed the top hat on the blond's crown of golden spikes, angled to be on the left, slightly tamer side of his hair. "I am the butler of the Phantomhive family. It goes without saying that such minor feats are within my repertoire."

Confused by his words, the only comeback that Roxas could think of was, "How in the world do you expect me to learn how to dress myself if I can't even see you do it?"

"Well then, I hope that you have quick eyes, Lord Roxas. I shall come back to escort you to the dining hall." He bowed once again before closing the double doors, leaving Roxas alone, still dazed.

"… This did not just happen!"

* * *

><p>The Earl of Phantomhive tossed the newspaper onto his desk. "This just makes no sense!" He huffed and a knock was on the door. Taking calming breaths to steady his voice, he said, "Come in."<p>

The door opened and Sebastian walked in, a small smile on his lips. "I will start to prepare the tea and will summon you both shortly."

"How is he?" Ciel found himself saying the words without his consent.

Sebastian's smile dimmed slightly. "Concerned about your guest, my lord?"

Ciel narrowed his eyes at his butler. "No, of course not. I'm just concerned about this case. We will have to visit the Undertaker afterwards."

"With Roxas, young master?"

Ciel waved at him. "Let him come. I intend to find out his true motives during this short meal anyway. Now, weren't you leaving?" He was glaring at the demon, who was visibly frowning at this point.

"Yes, my lord." Sebastian bowed before leaving the room, closing the door behind him.

Ciel sighed as he watched him leave, picking up the newspaper again. "Disappearances all over England… men, women, and even children…" His mind thought back to the events of last night, of that close encounter with death, which comes too often than he would like.

Why did he allow Roxas to live? If it was anyone else, he would have had Sebastian end their existence in ten seconds flat, with no remorse or seconds thoughts. No looking back. He could always tell Elizabeth that he disappeared, ran away. Sweet lies were always better than the bitter truth. At least with her, anyway.

So then why was he still alive?

"_Concerned about your guest, my lord?"_

Ciel shook his head, crumpling the paper. Hardly. Why would he be? He just wants to know how the assassin and queen's case were connected. Nothing more.

"_But on the inside, you really are a kind person who cares about others."_

He grinned as he folded his hands and crossed his legs underneath his desk. It was better that way, to think that he was someone of kindness - it would be easy to manipulate him. It was all a matter of time before he gets his answers, then depending on them would the assassin's fate be decided.

He didn't have to wait long, because just after he came about this resolution, Sebastian reappeared to escort him to fetch their guest.

* * *

><p>"No, no, no! Where is it?"<p>

Roxas has spent the last couple of minutes searching for his cloak, which would hopefully be unaltered.

However, after searching within the deep pocket of space that was his wardrobe, he couldn't find any trace of his trademark Organization-issued black cloak that helped him keep his identity and protected him from the darkness when traveling through the Corridors. Without it, he didn't want to be making any careless mistakes now, since he was more prone to the darkness and without protection. He didn't want to risk the dangers.

He had to admit though; it was a lot to search through. He searched, but there were only handfuls of outfits that were black, let alone of the same texture of his cloak, compared to the oceans of various shades of blue, white, green, purple, orange, red, and yellow. And he didn't even make a dent in the outfits!

"No wonder you were gone for so long… how in the worlds were you able to buy all these outfits in that short period?" Roxas loudly questioned his invisible Elizabeth, who in his imagination just giggled at him as a response.

"Aurgh…" He muttered, reaching out for his pjs again. Perhaps it was still with Nina in the shop? His best bet was that it was altered, if not gone. "Oh no…" His eyes widened as the realization dawned on him. _He couldn't complete his mission without it._

"Don't go drowning in the fabric now, Elizabeth just might get upset."

Roxas turned to find Ciel and Sebastian waiting patiently at his door, smiling in his torment.

He cleared his throat. "Well from all this, I make no promises." He answered before exiting the armoire, turning back to straighten any outfits he may have wrinkled in his leaving. He straightened himself before walking up to his hosts, and was rather surprised when Ciel held out his hand for him to take.

"Come, Roxas, let us dine in the garden."

The nobody looked at the child in disbelief, where there was a small _sincere _smile on the Earl's face.

"O… okay…" He took the Earl's offered hand and was surprised at his hold. It was completely different from Elizabeth's. Elizabeth's was strong and firm, but Ciel's was soft and gentle. If he had to compare, he would rather hold Ciel's, which was actually more feminine than the cute obsessed girl.

He realized that he was being led by the child deeper into the mansion, followed rather closely by Sebastian, and the Nobody was captivated by the art that decorated the halls of the Phantomhive manor, silently gasping at the various works to the amusement of the Phantomhive butler and Earl.

Everything suddenly became brighter, and the dark colors shifted to pastel as the men stepped outside into the lush garden of the Phantomhive family. Roxas noticed a trace of blond - one of the servants? - before it was suddenly pushed aside.

Ciel led the blond to a rather small circular table, set for only two, and Sebastian pulled out the chair so that Roxas could take a seat.

However, the blond's mind wasn't too off from the Earl's gentle grip, his soft hands, his dark blue long sleeve jacket going up to his knees, covering the same shade of blue underneath, the way his hair swaying with the slight breeze from walking briskly in the hallway…

…the current situation, which was, most likely, an interrogation of what happened last night.

A few moments later, the hair stood still, and Ciel turned back to his guest. "Please, take a seat." Roxas blinked back into attention, and seeing the white chair, let go of the child and took a seat, Sebastian pushing him in before following after his master, who did the same.

Sebastian bowed. "I shall return momentarily." He left the pair to retrieve the snacks, and a pin drop could be heard at the awkward silence.

"Uh… about last night…" Roxas decided that he could go clean out, tell him what happened. He doubt that he had much of a choice. Perhaps Ciel would tell him about himself as well, an equal exchange of information per se.

Ciel raised his hand to silence the Nobody, and Roxas could sense the power that the child had. It wasn't something of a mystical proportion, but rather of power and prestige itself, as if he was the embodiment of the traits.

"Not now. Tell me after. I do not know about you, but I could go for a cup of tea." He smiled at his guest, who smiled back in confusion.

"Today's afternoon tea consists of silver needle white tea with petite madeleines with a slight lemon zest." The butler's voice came from behind the Nobody as he suddenly appeared between the two seated 'lords', gently patting powdered sugar onto the madeleines. Pouring the tea ever so slightly, Sebastian handed a teacup to Ciel, who took the cup gently, then poured and handed the second to Roxas, who eyed the liquid.

"It's tea. Try it." Ciel picked up a madeleine and took a small bite before taking a sip of tea.

Roxas eyed the liquid again, but trusting the target proceeded to take a sip. The slick porcelain cup managed to slip from his fingers, which he managed to catch but tea splashed all over Sebastian.

"It burns! Oh…" He looked at Sebastian, who sighed before wiping himself with a washcloth, Ciel holding back his chuckle. "Sorry about that…" He meekly said before taking a madeleine from the plate to nibble on.

"Sebastian, go clean yourself up. We won't be needing you." Ciel called as he placed the cup back on its saucer.

Sebastian gave his master a rather curious look. "Are you sure, young master?"

Ciel waved him away. "Go on before it stains." The butler bowed and took his leave and when he closed the doors of the mansion, Roxas finally let himself smile.

"If you try to summon your sword again, I won't hesitate in ending your life."

The mood in the air turned serious as Ciel changed it from light to dark. "It will only take Sebastian moments to come back, but I know you are uncomfortable in his presence. Since I am so kind, I decided to keep you into account. Now…" Ciel's eye turned dark as his voice but moved his gaze back to the petite cakes. "Why don't you tell me why you tried to kill me?"

Roxas coughed uncomfortably. "U-uh…"

"Don't be afraid." The Earl's tone became light again. "I'm just pushing the topic earlier than what you expected. You were about to tell me, weren't you?"

Roxas nodded. "I was."

Ciel's eye watched him. "So then, what's keeping you?"

Roxas thought about it. Why did he even want to tell his target about his motives? Did Saïx order him not to?

_Take as long and use whatever techniques you may need. _That was what the letter said. Did techniques include information?

"You have a strong heart," He started.

"A strong soul?" Ciel sounded amused. "Yeah, I get that a lot."

"No, not soul. Heart," Roxas corrected.

"What's the difference?" The Earl asked, slightly confused.

"…I couldn't say, I don't know what a soul is," Roxas answered honestly. This caused Ciel to frown. "…I see. Carry on then, using 'heart' or whatever term you may need."

"Wait, tell me about Sebastian first." Roxas was going to need some information in return if he was going to spill secrets to this person, to his target no less!

… Why was he doing this again?

"What about him?" The tone was still light. Roxas narrowed his eyes at the Earl. "You know. There's something… _off _about him." Ciel smiled.

"That's true. Is that why you are so wary of him? But then again, _you _are quite an oddity as well."

So he knows. "Explain," Roxas commanded.

Ciel's smile turned into a smirk. "You should know more than anyone. It is about _you _after all. Why don't you explain yourself first? With the 'hearts' and 'souls' and all that?"

"I'm not about to spill secrets without getting something in return," Roxas said, watching Ciel as he eyed another cake. As the lord reached out for one, he replied, "I wasn't going to spill anything at all. Besides, you already spilled your tea."

"Tea beside the point." This conversation was starting to become a battle of wits.

"I don't know about you, but I believe that the most interesting conversations occur during tea time." Ciel took a sip of the beverage. "I promise that I will tell you about Sebastian if you tell me your story."

"How can I trust you?"

"You can't." Ciel looked up and smiled. "But you have no one else to trust, so why not me?"

"How about Lizzy?" Roxas tried to threaten, but he knew that he was right.

Ciel shrugged it off. "I know that you're smart enough to know that you can't really trust her with these matters. And who else can you really talk to, anyway? Not Sebastian, I doubt that he will tell you his secrets. My fellow servants? They won't tell you anything unless I order them to. Random strangers? I doubt you know, but my personal life is rather personal, unknown to the general public. Well, I do have an image as head of a toy and candy company… have you heard of the Funtom Company? Would you like some samples?" He bent down to retrieve a stuffed bunny rabbit - _the same one the girl had_ - and a variety of lollipops in shades of strawberry pink, chocolate brown, caramel tan, and milk white. He held out the candies, and Roxas hesitantly picked the milk. Ciel dropped the strawberry and caramel onto the table, leaving the chocolate in between his fingers.

He smirked. "Really now, I thought you were smarter than that."

The blond unwrapped the lollipop and took a small lick. "Milk?"

Ciel unwrapped his as well before placing it down next to his cup. "What flavor did you think it was?"

"Vanilla."

"And I have chocolate." Ciel's visible eye looked amused.

Roxas put down the lollie and picked up his cup of tea, which was almost empty. "It's… hard to explain."

"I'm a good listener."

The Nobody sighed, closed his eyes, then opened again, sapphire meeting sapphire.

"I'm not human, I'm nothing really. A Nobody."

"Please elaborate."

"I… don't have a heart. Or soul, whatever it is you wish to call it. I'm a hollow shell. I have nothing on the inside. I might be different from the other types, but I'm still a Nobody."

"How exactly are you different from others?" Ciel picked up his cup and began to drink.

"I… have no memories of my other self, and I can also… feel emotions." Ciel's eye darkened as he put down his cup, and Roxas looked deep into his own tea. "Look, I already gave a lot of information, can you tell me something in return?"

Ciel shook his head, reached out for his lollypop and put it in his mouth. "No, tell me more. You did try to kill me, and that's a hefty toll to pay."

Roxas picked up the milk flavored candy and began to suck on it. What else can he really say? He wasn't a proper Nobody, he would be giving inaccurate information. "Really, I _am_ different. You really shouldn't base all Nobodies on me. Nobodies I'm sure aren't supposed to feel emotions, and I am the only one who doesn't remember my other self."

Ciel took out his candy stick, placed it on the side of his plate and reached out for another cake.

"Look, um, I'm… not going to hurt you, but… I think it's a nice visual." Roxas took a deep breath, and summoned his keyblade. This time, it wasn't the dark blade, but the Kingdom Key. Ciel's eye went wide at the sword, taking note that it looked different from the one that almost slain him the night before.

"I am the only one of my group who can wield this blade, the keyblade. It has the ability to -"

"Let me guess. Unlock locks?" Ciel asked sarcastically.

Roxas gave a soft laugh. "Well, yes, it can do that. And it can also lock the hearts of Somebodies and worlds. I do not know all the secrets of this weapon, but I know that the one I… used against you last night is different." He held out his other hand, and the dark blade was summoned once again. Ciel gasped and leapt out of his chair, and Roxas looked up to him and saw the fear that he saw last night. He quickly sent it away and reaffirmed the grasp on his Kingdom Key.

"That blade… it is an unnatural blade. Compared to my usual blades, it is a blade of pure _darkness_ instead of light. It has the power to _unlock _instead of lock. Unnatural…" Roxas trailed off.

The little lord calmed himself some, then took his seat once more before coughing to dignify himself. "You keep talking about Somebodies, but you called yourself a Nobody. Somebodies are people who have… hearts, am I correct?"

Roxas nodded.

"So, am I a Somebody?"

"You are."

Ciel placed his hand over his heart. "So why are you trying to retrieve my… heart?"

Roxas sighed. "I'm sorry. Let me explain. When a powerful Somebody like yourself," Ciel smirked. "Loses their heart, two things occur. The heart itself becomes a monster called a Heartless, and its form varies with the power of the heart. However, if their heart is strong, their shell will gain a mind of their own. It would be a shell that looks different, but always similar to the original, never really a whole…" The blond's eyes looked distant before blinking back into focus. "The shell becomes a Nobody, and I was supposed to retrieve yours. Since you are a particularly strong Somebody it would be beneficial to our cause."

Ciel narrowed his eyes. "Which is what, exactly?"

"The formation of Kingdom Hearts to gain our own hearts and become truly whole again." Roxas recited, as if he was in class.

"And this?" He raised the ruined toy to the table and kept his eyes on it.

Roxas was unfazed as he answered honestly, "I wanted to test out the magic of the dark blade. I found these two kids that tried to swindle me before I bumped into Lizzy. One of the children had it. It does work. If I were to use it against you right now, you would lose your heart and disappear into a Heartless and a Nobody."

"And what made you decide to not fulfill your 'mission' during this little meeting?" Ciel began to brush his fingers on the plush toy, and was surprised that there was in actuality, no blood on the toy. Just dust, dirt, and tears.

Roxas gave a nervous laugh. "Well, I don't doubt your ability to carry out threats."

"A blade that is mythical in origin, and does not in itself actually wound the body, but rather the soul itself…" Ciel muttered to himself, and Roxas had trouble in hearing what the young earl commented.

"I'm sorry?"

"I see." Ciel picked up his cup, peered inside and frowned. "Oh dear, I'm out of tea. Sebastian?"

"You called, my lord?"

Sebastian suddenly appeared next to the earl, and the blond jumped, much to the amusement of the earl and his butler.

"You lied! You said that he wasn't here!" Roxas sputtered out.

Ciel stopped chuckling as he regained his composure. "Not true. He did leave, and he just reappeared. Sebastian, about our conversation…"

"Only when you called me for tea, my lord." Sebastian bowed before standing and removing his watch from his pocket. "I must insist that if you would look at the time, however, you would see that you are running late for your appointment."

Ciel frowned and narrowed his eyes at his butler before turning back at his guest, and Roxas shuddered at the gaze. "I see. Roxas, would you like to come with us?"

It wasn't just a look of acknowledgement and recognition. It was a look that pierced into his very person, his very non-existent heart, and only in that moment did the Nobody realize that he completely opened up to his target, telling the young lord practically all of the Organization's plots and ideals, his own self, and the workings of his weapon.

It was in that moment that Roxas realized he was totally and utterly _fucked_.

The Nobody glared at the eye patched boy. "Do I really have a choice?"

"No, not really." Ciel smiled.

Roxas sighed before finally taking out his own candy stick and placed it next to his empty cup of tea. "Do I at least have the privilege to know where we are going?"

"How about this? On our way there, I'll answer any four questions. Any at all. Again, I make no promises as to I'll answer them truthfully at all, but you might be surprised. Come along then." Ciel pushed back the chair, got up from the table, and started his way back towards the house, leaving Roxas blinking as his form retreated farther from the garden. Feeling a burning feeling in his hand, Roxas clenched it, and his skin touched crisp paper.

"How can I trust you?" Roxas asked as he placed the paper in his pocket, not getting up from his spot.

"You can't," Ciel Phantomhive answered from his distance, mirroring the previous conversation.

The blond was quite surprised when the young Earl turned back to him, smirking and all as the butler suddenly appeared behind him to open a gate next to the house.

"Well? Are you coming or not?"


	4. A Lonely Rose Garden

Quick Vague Recap: Spilling secrets isn't easy, and Ciel had to admit that he was quite impressed that Roxas did over their snazzy tea party. Perhaps it's time to reveal some of his own?

* * *

><p>Ciel Phantomhive had to admit, even <em>he <em>was confused and surprised by these turn of events.

He has been dabbing in the magic arts far too much for his liking.

He knew that Roxas was dangerous, but he just assumed he was someone who worked for a rivaling company somehow able to obtain more information than he wanted out there in the air. In fact, the only reason he allowed Elizabeth to bring in her 'cousin' was so that he could find out the source of the information and put an end to it.

He didn't expect his guest to be an individual without a soul, or _heart_ he said, sent to kill him not to get him out of the way, but rather so that his... employers could obtain his body, leaving the soul to become a monster.

No wonder Sebastian was wary of the blond as soon as he arrived at the manor. He himself would become annoyed if his meal was practically stolen by another. Not even, they want the remains, the body, and just tossed away the soul… _heart_, he said.

Ciel watched as Roxas blinked at the table, and spent a few moments staring at the remaining food before reaching out to take the strawberry candy pop. He placed it in his pocket, and sighed. He stood up from his seat and started to walk up to the gate connecting the backyard to the front yard to get inside the carriage for their trip to London to visit the Undertaker.

The earl moved his eyes to his demon butler without turning his head to watch Roxas slowly approach. "I'm assuming that you _have _heard the conversation?" He murmured softly.

"But of course, young master. I must say, I'm rather intrigued by this turn of events. Never before have I heard of such a creature."

"Is he still human?"

"That I could not answer. However," The demon narrowed his eyes at the Nobody as he finally reached the pair, and he opened the gate for them. "Only you could get involved in such a mess, young master."

"Shut up," Ciel snapped as Roxas arrived, who blinked at Ciel's stern tone. "I… didn't say anything?"

Ciel facepalmed himself as Sebastian chuckled. "Very observant. If you would both just come this way…" They walked past the gate to the front yard and escorted them to the carriage that could fit six. The contracted and creature stepped inside, and Sebastian followed after the pair. After getting comfortably settled, the driver pulled on the reins on the horses and soon they were off to the streets of London.

Wanting to know his sense of direction, Roxas just stared out the carriage window, taking mental notes of each landmark on the road, the forks, the houses, and didn't turn back to Ciel when he cleared his throat. "Well?"

"Sebastian. What is he?" Roxas asked, still staring out the window.

"Sebastian is a demon, one who is bound to me as per a contract, details of which I will not say." Ciel watched as his butler's eyes went slightly wide as his young master told the truth. Only two people knew of that contract, and now he had just added a third member. A third, dangerous member who was out to get his life.

"Could you explain the details of the contract?"

"It is a contract penetrating to my personal affairs, and I must say that I don't feel like strolling down Memory Lane at the moment."

When Roxas let out a pained, soft laugh, Ciel realized how much he didn't know about the Nobody. He knew why he was sent here, he knew what he - it? - was, but he didn't know about the person known as Roxas.

_But could he even be considered a person if he doesn't have a soul? _

Did it really matter?

_It depends on how deep you really want to go._

"I won't let that one count, since I will not give a definite answer," Ciel told him.

"Tell me about yourself," Roxas said, completely changing the topic, keeping his eyes on the stream on the side of the road.

Ciel shrugged. "Not really a question, but it'll count as one. Still want to ask it?"

Roxas just nodded, eyes staring past the glass. Ciel sighed as he began his well rehearsed speech.

"My name is Ciel Phantomhive, son of Vincent and Rachel Phantomhive. Thirteen years old, engaged to my cousin, Elizabeth Midford." He thought about what else to say, what is _safe _to say. "I also run the Funtom Company, which you sampled, and I – " Roxas cut him off.

"That's not an answer," The blond announced bluntly.

The earl was flabbergasted at the fact that he was interrupted. "I'm sorry?"

"That's not an answer." Roxas finally turned to the young earl, and wasn't surprised to see Sebastian hovering over his young master. "I already know all that, so that doesn't count."

Ciel narrowed his eyes at the blond, who just looked lazily at him back. "What do you know?"

The blond sighed. "This is your interview, not mine. You said you were going to answer my questions."

"If you recall, I never specified how well I would answer them. So you know the general details."

"Oh, I know so much more. But it's beside the point." The carriage seemed to have finally arrived in town, so he assumed that the ride was almost over. "I suppose I should ask my last question, huh?"

"Might as well. But I suppose this would be your second, since the last one didn't count." Ciel looked out the window himself, and saw that they were only minutes away before they reached their destination. The reflection of the pair was in the glass, and he watched as Roxas started at him with both of his sapphire eyes.

"Do you trust me?"

Ciel turned to him. "What?"

"I asked, 'Do you trust me?'"

"…" Ciel thought about it. He had known his companion for less than 24 hours, yet they have already opened themselves raw to one another. The only other being that he ever opened himself to was only Sebastian, but that's only because if not than he would have been dead all those years ago.

_He may not be human, but he acts like one more than I._

"I suppose I do, yes." Ciel answered honestly.

Roxas smiled sadly. "Alright then, don't move."

Before Ciel could even blink, Roxas summoned his keyblade, the Kingdom Key - Ciel noted, and hurled it directly at the Earl of Phantomhive. Everything faded to black as he closed his eyes.

* * *

><p>When Ciel blinked back into consciousness, he found himself in a pair of arms. "Sebastian?" He groaned, placing a hand to his head, feeling a concussion coming on.<p>

"Sorry, he's under the carriage. Supposedly anyway." Ciel blinked into focus to find himself not in the arms of his demon butler, but rather in the arms of the blond Nobody. He jumped, trying to release himself from the assassin's grip. It was futile as he saw Roxas' sapphire eyes twinkle in amusement in his struggles.

"Relax. I'm not going to hurt you. Don't you trust me?" Roxas asked sincerely.

"..." Ciel looked down to the floor, cleared his throat and commanded, "Put me down."

"Alright, but take this." Roxas placed him down with one hand as he took out a misty blue green bottle with visible stars and moons inside from his pocket. He handed him the bottle, and the earl eyed it strangely, not taking it. Roxas was about to put it away when the earl started to wobble. He caught him before he fell.

"Here, let me do it." He uncorked the bottle and handed to the blue-haired boy, who refused to take it. Roxas sighed, then took a sip. Ciel was slightly concerned when he noticed that the blond visibly became brighter, glowing with an ethereal complexion before quickly fading as it came. "See, harmless!"

"You were practically glowing, that's not harmless! I'm not about to -" Roxas took the opportunity of the open mouth and placed the uncorked bottle to his lips, somewhat forcing the concoction down his throat. Ciel gagged, but Roxas refused to remove the beverage until it was finished. When it was finally empty, only then did Roxas remove the bottle and Ciel licked his lips.

Roxas smiled. "Feeling better?"

Ciel removed himself from the blond's support and found himself with no aches and no concussion. And probably glowing. "Yes, actually. What was that?"

"That?" Roxas tossed the empty bottle into an open bin. "It's just an elixir. What did it taste like?"

"Hmm..." Ciel placed his fingers to his lips. "I can't really put a specific taste; it tasted like… something celestial..."

"It's the stardust and liquid moonlight." Roxas shrugged. "It's expensive. You owe me, owner of the Funtom Company."

Ciel smirked. "Give me the recipe, and I'll make a much better version."

Roxas chuckled. "Good luck with that. So," He looked around. "Where's Sebastian?"

Ciel froze for a moment, glancing around for his butler. _I've been alone this whole time?_

"You look tense there. Well, understandable because of what happened. Remember? Hmm, you did kinda black out there for a sec... Let me give you a summary." Roxas walked back up to the carriage, and helped removed the crushed wood to reveal nothing underneath.

"Okay, so some Dusks came, tried to kill you and Sebastian I'm guessing. I threw them off with my keyblade, which is why I hurled it at you. I saw them in the window, and the carriage crashed." Roxas looked around for the driver, who was nowhere in sight. He tsked. "They got him… Anyway, I'm pretty sure Sebastian went after the Samurais I sent away, ignoring me." He shook his head. "They aren't on this world anymore."

Ciel blinked. "Dusk? The time of day? Samurais in England?" He muttered before realizing that Roxas was staring at him. He said louder, "You sent away samurais?"

Roxas shrugged. "Yeah, I guess they thought I needed some backup."

"Sebastian, come here right now." Ciel ordered, placing his hand over his eye patch. The demonic butler suddenly appeared behind his master, and both were still entertained at Roxas' reaction to the sudden appearance. "You called, my lord?"

"Stop chasing after those things, they aren't here anymore," Ciel commanded as Roxas made his way to the pair.

"So, now what?"

Ciel tsked at the sight of the ruined carriage, and looked around. "How far is it from here?" He asked Sebastian.

"Just a few blocks down the corner, young master." Ciel started walking in the direction Sebastian looked at. "Sebastian, fetch a new carriage. Roxas, come with me." He ordered as he continued to briskly walk to the Undertaker's, Roxas quickly following in tow. He was about to turn the corner.

"Will you be able to pay the price without me?" Sebastian's tone was that of mocking. Ciel sighed and replied without turning around, "Hurry up then." He turned the corner and halted in his tracks.

In front of him was a crowd of silver creatures, bending their skinny forms in positions as if they were in a ballet. The top where the head would be located had a large, cylindrical head with a flat top, with a rather curious symbol on its head. They swayed back and right, and in the center of their circle was their nameless driver, who was fading away into a vat of darkness, with a crystallized pink heart flying through the air as it disappeared into the sky. In place of where a presumed corpse would be, there was a small creature that resembled a rather giant ant with glowing yellow eyes, which wandered around its surroundings.

_There are mysterious creatures, a blend of silver, white, and black, that have been attacking our citizens in the dead of the night, causing them to disappear without explanation. _

A gasp choked in the young lord's throat, and they turned and the earl found that the silver creatures did not have any mouths, but a zipper in its place. Ciel could have sworn that they smirked as they flew in the air towards him with the giant ant close behind.

"Oh crap!" Roxas jumped from behind him, keyblade in hand, and slashed the ant first as well as the first few creatures as they approached before the remaining halted in their assault. "Leave! Now!" The blond harshly commanded, and the creatures shirked hesitantly from their target, hissing at their superior.

Roxas glared at them. "I know what I'm doing, I have my own subordinates. Now leave before I end your existence." Roxas tightened his grip on his blade, and Ciel was surprised at the blond's tone, ruthless and authoritative. The look in his eyes was as cold as ice.

"The letter from the Queen… must have been about these things…" Ciel noted faintly as he watched Roxas continue to converse with the things. "Now they are attacking in broad daylight?"

The silver creatures hissed some more before ultimately bowing and falling into the floor through pools of darkness. Roxas narrowed his eyes in concentration, and a single new creature appeared, one that Ciel deduced to be the samurai from the look of the blade it possessed.

Roxas stared at the samurai, and it bowed deeply, without any hissing Ciel noted, as it disappeared as well.

The young lord looked back to the corner."Sebastian, you can cancel my appointment," Ciel said as he heard Sebastian approach him from the shadows, carriage with horses close behind. He walked close to his manservant, huffing.

"Are you alright, young master?" Sebastian studied him. "I was able to save you from any internal damages, but there are no bruises from what I can see. However, you should be on the verge of a concussion from the way your head hit the wooden door. You also seem much… brighter."

Ciel glared at his butler before answering, "I'm fine, Roxas gave me this potion. Not poisonous, because he drank some as well. Getting back to the point, there wouldn't be any corpses from this case. They transform into the creatures to attack even more people. There were these… silver ballerinas, for lack of a better description… and our driver faded into darkness before transforming into a giant black ant. Clearly there is more to this than we thought." Ciel took the opportunity of Roxas' attention being fixated on the samurai, and briefly summarized past events.

After quite a long discussion, he looked back to see Roxas send away his assistant through darkness and sword… keyblade, he called it, in a flash of light and sighed.

"Roxas, you have a lot more explaining to do," Ciel murmured quietly as he shivered. Yet another close encounter with death. Sebastian removed his coat and placed it on his small shoulders. "Cold, young master?"

Ciel didn't answer, nor did he shrug the extra coat away. He started mumbling incoherent sentences while rubbing his blue family ring, causing his butler to give him a strange look before grinning. "Yes, your guest is quite a commodity."

Ciel ignored him. He couldn't get the kind guest's hard icy eyes and commanding tone out of his head. He had never seen it from him, but it _was _understandable considering they haven't even been in each other's company for even 24 hours. He shook his head as the blond was within earshot.

"Alright, sorry about that… I'm assuming I'll have to explain everything?" Roxas removed another crumpled piece of paper in his hand before it combusted into flames, ashes scattering in the wind, before turning to his company.

Eyes dead, he said lifelessly, "I don't even care if you don't want to explain yourself to me anymore. I have nothing left to lose but everything to gain at this point. I also kinda need for you to do me a favor, my last question. I have one left, don't I?"

He just couldn't believe the two versions of Roxas he had just seen in a span of ten minutes. "You do, and if it is not too much trouble, I don't see why not. What would that be?"

"Would it be possible for you to fake my death?"

* * *

><p>After swearing softly at the Dusks leaving, Roxas removed the letter that Axel had sent him over the tea party, and reread the few words on the paper.<p>

_Good luck! You got this one! - A_

The moral support letter that Axel sent him earlier was really encouraging. Now it just made him feel all the more guilty as he waited for the samurai to come back with his letter, spending the time coming up with a plan now that he was utterly screwed over by practically betraying the Organization during said tea party.

He only had to wait a few moments before it returned, kneeling low to the ground as it handed him the paper.

"For you, my liege," The samurai said as Roxas took the letter, thanked the Nobody, and opened Axel's letter.

_I figured you needed some moral support. But the higher numbers are getting worried that you aren't calling back in with any news, but I was able to convince them to cut you some slack for your first solo mission. _

Roxas smiled as he read the words, imagining Axel right next to him talking instead of in his mind. He continued to read.

_I was able to research some more on your target after I found out that they sent Demyx for the Intel _-

_I knew it!_ Roxas kicked the air at the fact that he was right before continuing.

- _and it turns out that he's an orphan who was kidnapped while his parents burned along with his mansion - which wasn't done by me I swear - and was subjected to torture. I was unable to discover how he got out, but they are really interested in his heart. There's something about it that just can't be described, but they want to obtain it before the Heartless notice it, but it might even be too late. The low-ranking Nobodies are disappearing, and I have a feeling that they might be stalking you on your mission. We were able to punish them, but I'm sure that a few escaped. But I know that you're fine. They even noted that he could be a possible keyblade wielder, my sources tell me. So you wouldn't be alone when you make him a Nobody. Hurry up with your stupid mission. Get the kid so you can come back! Everything's so dull and boring without you, I wonder how I was able to survive before you arrived._

_Keep Flamin' - Axel_

_P.S. - Oh, so your samurai just came along and passed me the message, so I'll just add on to this. Well I already provided extra Intel, but if you need to talk, give it the time and I'll show up. Where… uh, use this letter and I'll portal to it. Since we're going to talk face to face, I'll end this now._

_Until then - Axel_

So Ciel could become a key bearer? Interesting thought, but something that will never come into fruition. How is one able to become a key bearer anyway? But that's beside the point. Roxas was able to deduce that Sebastian, a demon, must have somehow been involved in Ciel's escape, and there must be a reason as to why he serves him so faithfully. He should ask the earl about it later, since there were practically no options left open to him.

Once again, Roxas was jealous of the fact that Axel can burn letters with just a snap as he willfully summoned the fire to burn it. Before he can stash the ashes in his pocket however, the wind scattered them away.

Roxas watched them fly away before speaking softly, "Hey, Sam, you still here?"

"All of us will always be here for you, my liege." Sam bowed. "Until the very end."

Roxas smiled at his subordinate, and said, "I appreciate it, but it's okay. Thank you, Sam. That means a lot. Now, there has been a change of plans…" Roxas trailed off before he fell down to the ground, hands on his face to cover the tears that threatened to leak out of his eyes.

"Oh god, what do I do? There's nothing I can do! I can't betray the Organization but I already did over the tea, and now they are going to kill me! I'm going to die, going to die…" His thoughts trailed over to Axel, and he started to shake. "What have I done?" He whimpered.

"My liege, is there anything else I could do?" Roxas turned to the unfeeling Nobody before he composed himself, coughing as he stood up.

"Sorry you had to see that." He stared down at the ground, in disbelief that he just broke down in front of his own subordinate. He was known for his coldness, unfeeling, honor - everything a samurai should be, which is devoid of emotion.

"My liege, you were always were a strange superior," The samurai spoke in a tenor voice, contracting its superior's soprano. "Thanking us for obeying orders, expressing distaste but forgiveness when some of us fail said orders. Even giving us all the name 'Sam'. Showing emotions while all others superiors have none.

"However, we all favor this, because as samurai we are not allowed to show emotion, less we break the code. Even if we had emotions, we would be unable to show them. Since we cannot feel, it makes us proud to know that you have the emotions that we were born without. Feel free to express them to us even more so, express the emotions we were denied. And, your highness," Roxas looked up to eye level with his vassal, confused at his title.

"We will always be here to serve you. No matter what. So is the code of the samurai, to be faithful to our emperor until our end of existence." The samurai kneeled to the ground to Roxas, almost like a knight would to a member of royalty.

Roxas blushed faintly, and smiled a small smile as he rubbed his eyes. "Thank you, Sam."He turned back to Ciel, to see him conversing with his butler. He sighed, "Please tell Axel that it's too late for me, and that the Organization can't gain Ciel Phantomhive's Nobody." Hopefully Axel would understand. "I screwed up, and I betrayed the Organization. I told my target everything about our plans, motives… I failed..." A spark flashed in Roxas' eyes as his plan suddenly came to him.

"I'm going to have to die."

Sam gasped, "M-my liege?"before composing itself.

"Not die as in end my existence, but rather that I would… disappear." He turned back to Ciel. "I'm going to have to stay here. There's nothing else I can do. I can't release the heart of Ciel Phantomhive."

"Why?" Sam asked carefully, without any trace of emotion.

"…" Roxas thought about it. He couldn't really describe what it was. If he really had to compare it, Ciel was like a delicate rose, a shade of… Roxas thought of various colors… red, white, purple, or perhaps the nonexistent blue rose. Yes, that rose, it just seemed so fitting.

Blue roses aren't natural in nature, and it symbolized the unattainable, the impossible, which his heart was, Roxas assumed. There was something about this child that made him unique and powerful enough to summon a demon, a creature of the purest darkness. In reality, he didn't really know how to describe Sebastian, and probably never will.

But back to the rose analogy. This blue rose - Ciel - contains a magnificent, gentle, intoxicating smell that will attract Heartless and Nobodies alike. This rose, like all other roses, is protected by thorns. However, unlike other roses, this rose's thorns were as sharp as they could possibly be - just a touch and it will cut deeply into skin, as protected by Sebastian.

"He's protected by his butler."

The samurai waited for more information, and as Roxas said nothing, said, "I see. I know not why, and neither would anyone else."

Roxas smiled sadly. "You're a smart one. Anyway, I think I… might need to stay here." Because some people don't relent even with the thorns. Some just take great care to avoid the thorns and carefully snip them off. And where would the rose be now, but just part of a bouquet, not giving it the proper care and adoration it so rightfully deserved. It deserved in its protective garden of thorns and that single blue rose.

Roxas yet didn't know his role in the garden. He didn't want to be a thorn, because he didn't want to get snipped. Perhaps he was a rose as well, but of another color. Maybe lavender, enchanting others to distract them from the blue rose.

No, black. Another unnatural shade of a rose, but this one signifying death. His own thorns are his method of defense, his magic and swordplay would act as very sharp thorns as well. Perhaps not a good as Ciel with Sebastian, but still thorns nonetheless. Black seems good.

"I'll summon you again later, Sam. I need to arrange a funeral. Please stay on standby for any information. Oh, and, Sam?" Roxas looked at the slits where he believed its eyes would be as he reached into his pocket to hand it the strawberry lollipop he nicked from the table. "Please give this to Axel. And thank you. For everything."

Roxas was sure that if Sam could smile, he would have. He took the candy and replied, "My liege," before the high yet low ranking Nobody bowed before falling down to the floor through a pool of darkness. Roxas realized that he was still holding his blade, and dismissed it. He sighed, realizing that this was a huge favor to ask of the Earl of Phantomhive, and wondered if he would do it.

He _hoped_ he would do it, because this was the only option he had left. He walked back to the Earl and butler, who were conversing. "Yes, your guest is quite a commodity." He heard Sebastian say, a small grin on his face, which was ignored by Ciel.

_Here goes nothing. _"Alright, sorry about that… I'm assuming I'll have to explain everything?" Roxas placed his hand in his pocket and felt the letter from earlier. He removed it and set it on fire, releasing the ashes into the wind. He doesn't want to keep any reminders about Axel, his only true friend that he was going to abandon.

He said dully as the ashes flew away, "I don't even care if you don't want to explain yourself to me anymore. I have nothing left to lose but everything to gain at this point. I also kinda need for you to do me a favor, my last question. I have one left, don't I?"

Ciel studied him. "You do, and if it is not too much trouble, I don't see why not. What would that be?"

"Would it be possible for you to fake my death?"

There was an awkward silence in the air as Ciel studied his guest, trying to see if he was serious.

"You're… kidding, right?" Ciel asked, feigning indifference as he found himself quite concerned with this change of character.

Roxas shook his head. "I'm not. Really. Now that I've told you everything, my life is forfeit. And I don't know about you, but I don't want to die. At least not yet anyway." He smiled sadly, tears threatening to fall from his eyes. "But I really don't know what to do…"

Stunned into silence, the Nobody's company looked at each other. Ciel couldn't read his butler's expression, nor did he want to. He had his own thoughts to straighten out.

What should he do? He couldn't just toss him away. He couldn't just deny what the blond was requesting.

But then again, why _couldn't _he?

Why should he care what happened to this kid, an assassin no less? This blond was no doubt more efficient with his swords - he has already proved so at least twice. He could have killed him just yesterday if he didn't call out Sebastian. He should be left to rot in the streets of London, pay for his insolent behavior. No one should _dare _threaten him and get away with it. Sure Ciel has been threatened, but soon after those people's lives would be forfeit.

But there was something about him. His background, the fact that he _doesn't _have one. His skills with magic, causing the paper from his pocket to suddenly combust into flames. His skill with his weapons, the keyblades, he called them. And of course, the most important factor: the fact that he is a moving, breathing, _living _person without a soul.

Was it a sad thing that Roxas, even though he wasn't human, acted more human than Ciel ever did after that tragedy that struck him and his family three years ago, when he acquired the demon he named after his dog Sebastian to get his revenge?

Ciel cleared his throat. His mind was made up. "You said your life was forfeit."

Roxas nodded, wiping his eyes from the moisture. "It is."

"So then, you consider your life worthless?"

"It might as well be."

"Well then," Ciel smirked. "Why don't you give your life to me?"

Roxas looked at him, confused. "Huh?"

"You say your life is worthless." Ciel began, reaching out his hand. "You say your life is forfeit. Because you broke the rules and told me everything. And yet you don't want to die. Understandable." He grabbed Roxas' ribbon, untying it and pulled it closer to him.

"But what else can you do? Can they track you? Can they stop you? Can _you_ stop them?" Ciel paused for an answer, and continued when Roxas shook his head. "I didn't think so. So, why don't you stay here?" He dropped the lilac ribbon to the stone ground. "Work for me. You are certainly not worthless. If anyone can find a use for you, it would be me. Work for me, Roxas, and I'll help you disappear from England, this world, _every_ world, so that your employers can't track you down.

"However, working for me is no easy task. You have to risk your life for me, protect and defend me from anything. But I don't doubt you. So, what do you say?"

Roxas choked, "A-are you serious?"

"Quite." Ciel turned and started to walk down the sidewalk, Sebastian following closely. "I'll let you think about it. However, I'll start the preparations. You said it yourself, '_I have nothing left to lose but everything to gain at this point._'" He turned and frowned that Roxas wasn't following him. "Well? We're already nearby. Come along then. We have a coffin to prepare."

* * *

><p>AN: Alright, sorry this took so long. Hmm, I like this chapter, somewhat. All that rose analogy and all that. Anyway, I posted a b-day fic for Ciel in this universe, titled _Bittersweet_. Ciel and Roxas fluff, I guess? Twas kinda angsty I suppose. Why am I even pairing them together? lol oh well, they be fun to draw together XD I didn't include it in here because I'm not up to it chronologically. Feel free to go check it out.

Anything else I need to say? Sorry for lateness? Did that already. Hmm… It's un-beta'd and I apologize for any grammatical errors? Sorry that these fandoms are taking the backseat as of the moment I'm typing this and that's why this is slugging along but since I have the next chapter halfway written Imma work on this fic supposedly again? Is anyone even still reading this?

… Got nothing else to say really? Okay then, thanks for reading, I ask that you review but I know that you won't, and stay tune for the next chapter. The Undertaker confrontation is next.


	5. Chess Pieces

Quick Vague Recap: After revelations and explanations, Roxas knows what he must do. And that, is to fake his death. Fortunately, Ciel seems willing to help.

* * *

><p>"Well, I suppose that this journey wasn't a complete waste after all," Ciel said softly as he left Roxas to his thoughts. He sure had a lot to think about.<p>

Ciel didn't know if that included himself when Sebastian inquired, "Young master?"

He'll leave it to another time. "Undertaker will finally be able to make me a coffin. Not _for _me, but it's still mine." Ciel grimaced, the thought giving a bad taste in his mouth. "Ugh. Going coffin shopping. I mean I knew I was going to have to do it eventually, but still…"

"Young master, are you sure about this?" Sebastian sounded skeptical.

Ciel turned to his butler and narrowed his eyes. "Sebastian, think about it. He has so much potential to him. It would be a waste if he were to be destroyed. He knows so much more about this threat, and you have to admit, even _you _are intrigued as to what he is." Sebastian watched the blond closely follow them at a distance that would make it hard to eavesdrop before he replied.

"Yes… I must admit that I am. He certainly is an amusing character, to say the least."

Ciel watched him from the corner of his eye. "What do you mean?"

"Don't you see, young master?" Sebastian's voice curled. "He's more human than you'll ever act to be."

Ciel frowned. "I knew that. That was a given. You disappoint me with your observations." Before they realized it, they have reached the Undertaker's coffin Shoppe. Without even knocking, Ciel opened the door. "Undertaker?" Ciel called, eye looking around the dreary shop.

He heard Roxas mutter, "Creepy…" and turned around to watch the blond as he entered the store, eyes also looking around, studying for the sake of understanding his surroundings. After he entered, Sebastian closed the door, making the room dim in the candle light.

"Earl," A disembodied voice called, and Ciel had to admit that he might just keep Roxas alone just for the sake of scaring him. His reaction to the voice was for him to jump in the air and hit a shelf with various books, glass containers, and a skull. The skull fell from the shelf and into his lap, and he screamed as he rose from the floor and hid behind Sebastian all within a span of three seconds. The Earl let himself smile for a millisecond before putting his mask of indifference back on.

"Undertaker, I need a favor. And I think you will be quite interested in it." Ciel said, eye watching as the standing coffin at the back of the room started to creak. He took a peek at Roxas, who was taking deep breaths and trembled behind Sebastian, whose eyes chuckling at the scared Nobody.

The coffin slowly opened, and a long-white haired man draped in black and purple fabric, long bangs covering his eyes appeared. He made his way to the customers, and picked up the skull from the floor. "Hmm? And what would that be, Earl?" He asked, playing with the open eye sockets, grinning madly. "If it's about the new case - "

"I need for you to prepare me a coffin," Ciel cut him off, and the Undertaker's grin grew wider, if that was even possible.

"Oh? For you?" He asked, circling around them. "I knew that you would come to your senses. Death is only inevitable for us all, including youself. But of course, you've been dead for a while now, haven't you? Although…" He studied the Earl, who refused to crumble under the gaze. "Something seems a bit different."

"Not for me, but for him." Ciel turned back at his company, seeing Sebastian in front of just a tuff of blond hair.

The Undertaker frowned. "Your butler? That's not fun at all."

"No, you fool." The current Earl of Phantomhive wasn't known for his patience. "The one _behind _Sebastian. The blond."

Roxas peeked from behind Sebastian, who shivered under the man's gaze. It lingered there for a few moments that Ciel thought was longer than necessary before the Undertaker wheezed.

"Oh, interesting friend you have here…" He disappeared from the young lord's side, and suddenly appeared next to Roxas, who jumped at his new companion, who just barely missed his arm.

"H-h-h-hi…" Roxas stammered out, still holding Sebastian's suit like a small child. "P-p-p-pleased to m-me-meet you."

The blond's low tolerance for all things scary and sudden was really sad. Then again, it was quite an entertaining sight, just as long as it doesn't interfere with his duties, Ciel mused. The Undertaker seemed to fascinated by the Nobody, and it _slightly _put the Earl on edge.

"I don't believe you need the details, but please make me a coffin suitable for him." He said, not liking the way that the Undertaker was studying his new servant. The man was about to grab Roxas' arm before dropping his arm and turned back to address the Earl.

"Oh, I believe I have such the size. Would you like it now, or later?"

"Let's test it out first. Would you be so kind as to bring it out so we can check it out?"

"Of course, of course… That is, if you can pay the price." The proprietor of the shop smiled as his where his eyes would be visible if not for his hair never left Roxas' visible ones, who was still shuddering.

"How much is it?" Ciel pulled out his wallet, ready to pay right then and there.

The Undertaker studied Roxas some more, about to grab his arm when Ciel frowned, put away his wallet, turned around and walked to the door, grabbing the blond's arm as he passed Sebastian.

"Sebastian, you know what to do. We'll wait for you outside." The bell above the door rang, and both of the boys were blinded by the onslaught of light that attacked their eyes. It took a few moments to readjust, but when they it finally did, they just stood outside to wait for the Earl's demon butler.

"So..." Roxas attempted some conversation when they finally readjusted to the shift in light. "What exactly..."

"You wanted a funeral, am I correct?" Ciel asked, looking at the ground. "For a funeral in England, one needs a coffin. You didn't expect us to just toss you away, did you?"

"... Actually, yes I did. Like you have Sebastian mortally wound me or something like that. I could have given you a Phoenix Down." Roxas said, searching his pants.

Ciel looked up to see Roxas shuffling around in his pockets. "Phoenix Down?"

"Ah, here, I have one." Roxas took out a feather that shifted colors from yellow, red, orange, and gold. He had a mischievous look in his eye. "Don't tell anyone, but I stole it from this guy dressed in red." Roxas shivered from the memories that the man brought. Creepy dude he was. Too bad he didn't stick around long enough to see if he was a vampire or not. "It revives people. I was about to use it on you when you came back to."

Ciel's interest was piqued. "It can revive the dead?"

Roxas opened his mouth to answer, closed it, shook his head before shrugging. "Honestly, I'm not too sure. I think only unconscious people. Haven't tried it on the actual dead. Why? Is there anyone you want to bring back? I wouldn't risk it, however." The magical feather floated in Roxas' hand, and Ciel thought about it.

Flashes of his parents appeared in the Earl's mind, as well as all those nameless children that had suffered along with him.

"… No, I'm good, thanks."

Before Roxas could comment, loud laughter could be heard from the shop, causing him to jump back in surprise. Roxas stared at the shop. "… What was that?" He asked his companion.

Ciel shrugged. "Come along then, they're done." The lord reentered the shop with the Nobody to see the Undertaker smacking his hand on the table, chuckling madly.

The man took in breaths in between chuckles, trying but failing to compose himself. Sebastian just smiled from the reaction before taking his side back to his master. When he finally composed himself - somewhat anyway - the Undertaker disappeared and reappeared a few moments later, a mahogany coffin in arms. It was of a dark shade, practically black, with swirls of white gold on the sides.

"I believe this one will be suitable to your cause, yes?" The Undertaker passed over the coffin to Sebastian, who held it like it was nothing.

As Sebastian took a glance at his pocket watch before putting it away, Ciel answered in a dull tone, "I suppose it will have to do," sounding somewhat bored with the fact that he was planning a funeral. "Let's go then, I still have lots to do and not a lot of time left to do them." He turned around and left the store, not stopping to wait up for his servants.

"… Is he always like that?" Roxas asked as he watched the child leave, questioning the butler.

The Undertaker answered instead as Sebastian just ignored him and followed his master. "Oh, this is going to be interesting, alright. I do hope you come back soon." He grinned as Roxas backed into the door, still chuckling as Roxas quickly took his leave from the creepy man and his Shoppe.

"Yes, return soon." The pale man grinned a Cheshire grin.

* * *

><p>"Oof!" The blond bumped into Ciel, who would have fallen if not for Sebastian's quick reflexes. The Earl just shook himself free from dust as he regained his footing.<p>

"Took you long enough. I would have guessed that you would have been the first to leave, because of your nerves and all." Roxas frowned, but was promptly ignored. "Anyway, while Sebastian's getting the carriage, let me ask for a formal reply to my offer."

Roxas looked around and saw no sign of Sebastian. "Offer?"

"To work for me?" Ciel sounded patient, but Roxas could tell it was a forced patience as his eye studied him.

"Oh, about that…" Roxas' thoughts swirled in his head. It has been swirling ever since they started walking to get the coffin for that funeral, but after entering the dark shop, his attention was elsewhere. Which was understandable. But now to the question at hand.

Honestly, the boy said it himself. He had nothing left to lose at this point. It was game over.

"… Yeah, I guess that I'll have to take you up on that offer."

_Any regrets?_

Roxas saw flashes of black and red as Ciel grinned. "I'm happy that you came to that decision." He held out his hand. "Welcome to the Phantomhive family."

"Huh?" He asked as he took the hand, coming out of his thoughts. After a few seconds of contact, it ceased.

Ciel looked out into the road, watching for Sebastian to return with the carriage. "Well, obviously Elizabeth wouldn't be able to accept that you have suddenly become one of my servants, since I truly doubt that her family will allow you, a child with no past who appeared out of nowhere, into the noble Midford family. Hmm, I have to think of a role for you. It would be annoying to try and get around her to pass you, her 'friend', as a servant of mine. She's not as dim as people believe."

He shrugged. "Guess it can't be helped, I'll adopt you into my family, teach you the tricks of the aristocrat trade, and perhaps I will even throw you a cotillion ball. Or débutante ball. Wait... no, _beau _ball?" He shrugged once more before sticking out his tongue in disgust. "Meh, I hate social gatherings. I don't even think I had one… so I suppose we can come out together."

"Come out?" Roxas was so confused.

"Coming out to society. It's what the nobles do. Tck, how annoying. Hmm, I wonder if you truly are of noble blood." Ciel studied the blond head to toe. "Odds are highly improbable, but appearance wise you can pass as one. That will have to do. We could just forge the papers anyway."

It was at that moment that Sebastian arrived back with the carriage along with the horses. He dropped down from the driver's seat and opened the door and bowed as Ciel and Roxas stepped inside, and after closing the door, quickly made his way back to the reins and soon they were off.

Roxas looked out the window and was able to deduce that they were going back to the Phantomhive manor. Ciel leaned on his arm as well, staring out in the opposite direction. There was an awkward silence between the two as they drove off.

Roxas coughed, wanting to clear the confusion as well as start up a conversation. "Wait, can you run the plan by me again?"

Ciel ignored him, making the silence even more awkward.

"… Okay then."

Ciel blinked back to attention. "Hmm? What? Did you say something?"

"Oh, I just asked if you could repeat the plan to me, please?"

"… I'll repeat it again when Sebastian's listening. He plays a role as well." Ciel coughed as he looked out the window once more. Roxas could take a hint.

_Besides, I'm not even sure what I'm to do yet._

* * *

><p>Ciel Phantomhive was deep in thought. It wasn't his intention to ignore Roxas, but his voice was just so soft that it didn't break into his thoughts.<p>

What an eventful day. The sun would be setting soon, which would bring it to a close. From the few answers he received, dozens more questions came into existence. As well as problems. Now he needed to plan a funeral, work something out with Elizabeth, and somehow still be able to shake off Roxas' employers as well as solve the case that the Queen has given him. It was an annoying task.

There was a lead, however. Roxas was somehow related to the case. It wasn't much, but it was something.

Personally, however, he thought it was worth it. Now he has gained another chess piece. But what it was exactly he couldn't put his place on as of yet.

A pawn? No, the pawn wasn't the right word. Roxas was a chess piece that he didn't have much control over just yet. Nor was he that weak and useless. Ciel was positive he wouldn't sacrifice his new piece as easily as he would have with a pawn.

He was sure, however, that with enough time with built up royalty it will become a powerful piece to him - one worthy of its many skills and talents, perhaps on caliber of Sebastian. Perhaps a bishop or a rook of some kind? Maybe even an additional knight, like Sebastian? The possibilities were endless as long as he had his life in his delicate hands.

Role? That could come later, after this whole fiasco of funeral planning. The idea of adopting Roxas was more of a spur of the moment than an actual plan, but now that he thought about and explained it, he supposed it would have to do. Hopefully, Elizabeth wasn't doing anything rash and will be preoccupied for at least the next few days, at least for two. If it went as planned, it would take her about three days. Not a lot of time to work with, but it would have to do.

They were only moments from arriving back. His eye watched the sun start to go down, and he asked his new chess piece that was yet to be discovered, "Would you like to see the sunset?"

There wasn't even an answer as Roxas hurried over to Ciel's side of the carriage, not taking great caution as he practically ran over his new master/superior.

"Hey!" Ciel huffed, trying to straighten out his clothes. He was ignored as Roxas just stared outside, the sky blending from orange, red, purple before finally shifting to black. He didn't even notice when the carriage stopped, and Ciel had to exit from the opposite side as Roxas just refused to budge from his spot.

"He seems to be fixated with the sky," Sebastian commented as he moved to his master after putting away the horses before quickly moving to open the front doors for the young nobles to enter.

Ciel just watched Roxas watch the sky as the stars began to become visible, and did not miss the single tear that fell from his eye. "It would seem so, yes…" He looked up to the sky as well, watching the stars start to illuminate the night. Pollution hadn't spread as far as to block its light.

Sebastian grinned. "Should I put away the carriage while he's in it?"

After a few moments, he faced his butler. "No, don't do that. I think he needs some time to adjust." The words escaped the Earl's lips before he was conscious of what he was actually saying. "Perhaps he's looking out to his own planet or something."

Sebastian stared. "… It sounds like you are describing a homesick alien, young master."

Aliens? No, _that _-

"… Well he is, isn't he?" Ciel replied, "He's not from this world, so what else could he be? Must be an extraterrestrial. We're still fixated on magic, anyhow. Anyway, let's get inside and discuss our next move." He looked back to the blond, whose eyes were wide with wonder.

Honestly, he couldn't understand why he didn't order Roxas to just come inside. It could have been the fact that he was still a dangerous character that was not fully yet under his thumb.

But enough was enough. "Roxas, get out of the carriage. We have much to discuss." He entered his manor, and knew from the footsteps that his orders were followed.

He led them to his own office, where Roxas was creeping in just night the night before which seemed like such a lifetime ago. Sebastian lit the fireplace as Ciel sat in his main chair and Roxas took a seat across from him.

After getting comfortable, perhaps it was time to get to the main discussion at hand. "Alright, I think I know what we're going to do. First off, Sebastian, bring the coffin here." Ciel waved him away. Sebastian bowed before leaving to do as he was commanded.

Before Roxas could strike up what would probably be another failed attempt at a conversation, Sebastian returned with the coffin. Ciel motioned for him to bring it to the center of the room, pointing to the door. There was a soft click noise as Roxas quickly summoned his weapon and locked the door before banishing the keyblade back into the light from whence it came. Ciel and Sebastian were quiet for a few moments before they regained their focus back to the coffin.

Ciel examined the coffin as Sebastian opened the lid and the lord took a good look inside. He got up from his chair and peered inside. "Damn, I hope you're not claustrophobic or anything." The Earl muttered as he motioned Roxas to come close to him. Hesitantly, the blond approached him, somewhat skittish.

Ciel placed his foot on the lid and tilted his head to the casket. "Get in."

Roxas was taken back. "Say what?"

Ciel sighed. "Have you ever attended a funeral?"

"… No?"

"Says the one who requested it in the first place," Sebastian commented.

Roxas was about to reply but Ciel cleared his throat. The blond turned back to the lord. "Roxas, get in the box."

"But…" Roxas looked in the box before shrugging. "Funerals are weird." He moved to remove his shoes but Sebastian waved his hands to get his attention.

"No need for that, come along then," Ciel said before reaching out for the blond to place him in the box. Hesitantly, Roxas moved to the box, following Ciel's instruction.

It dawned on the Earl. "You don't even know what a funeral is, do you?"

The Nobody looked away. "… No…"

"Ah, now you would think that would be a problem, but in reality it actually isn't." Ciel answered, feeling the velvet plush interior of the coffin. Plushie. "A funeral is just a ceremony used to mourn over the dead and to acknowledge that the dead are truly dead." He rolled his eyes.

"Of course, you won't actually _be _dead, but I'm sure that we could arrange such a thing as so that there would be a corpse inside."

Sebastian nodded before bowing, ready to leave and do what his master had implied.

"Wait," Roxas raised his hand to stop him. "I… I think that we need to actually use my body. I'm sure that the Organization would send someone over to check everything. Hopefully he will come..."

_And understand…_

Ciel watched Roxas carefully, noting the sad look in his eyes that gave a plume of despair. Sebastian shrugged before closing the window and made his way back to his meal and another area of interest. "Alright then, that could be arranged. But before we could actually _do _anything of that nature," Ciel motioned to the coffin. "Let's see if you actually fit in this thing."

Without another word, Roxas stopped his defenses and took a step inside before he was fully inside. He pat the velvet, getting somewhat snuggy inside. "Interesting. Feels like I'm going to be buried alive."

Ciel pulled the lid over him, casting him in darkness. Oh god, the darkness.

"Well I suppose you are, technically speaking," the lord replied, "But I'm sure that we could figure something out." He removed the lid. "You can come out now, by the way."

After Roxas got out, he said, "I think that I have something that could work." The blond fished out a flask from his pocket.

"Where is all of that stuff coming from?" Ciel questioned, curious about the various objects coming from the blond.

Roxas shrugged. "Just stuff I've picked up on my travels. Well…" He studied the flask. "Not this actually. I was reading this book the other day, and my… college would be a good word I suppose, saw and gave me this. It's supposed to be a replica of the potion used in the story." He gave a face. "A story in poor taste, if you ask me. Stupid teens controlled by hormones." If that's what a heart did, Roxas didn't think he would want it if he would be that stupid as a result.

"What was it?" Ciel reached out for the bottle, and Roxas promptly handed it to him. The Earl studied the mixture with his single eye. It looked nothing like what Roxas had given him before. Hmm, considering the context of the conversation as well as the description of the story…

"… You wouldn't have happened to have been reading _Romeo and Juliet_, would you?"

"Huh?" Roxas was surprised that his new superior knew of the book kept in Zexion's private library. "Y-yeah."

Ciel grinned and closed his eye. "I agree with your opinion. I hated that work."

Before the two could have a deep, intellectual conversation about the works of Shakespeare - which Roxas would have been humiliated without a doubt as he had only read that and _Hamlet_ - a cough interrupted the two. "Well, wasn't that convenient?" Sebastian said, looking at the potion.

The blond nodded. "Really is, and I already summoned someone who will be coming to check on me… He should be here by tomorrow night." Roxas' voice was hollow as he said this, matching his eyes, almost sounding like regret.

Ciel grabbed the Nobody's neck collar, snapping him out of his stupor. "No regrets now, Roxas. You heard me?"

Roxas gulped. "R-right."

Ciel pulled him closer and glared. "Right?" He said, more forcefully.

"Right." Roxas confirmed with a firm tone. "No regrets."

"Glad to see that we're on the same page here," Ciel said as he released his new servant, who proceeded to fix himself. The Earl turned to the window. "It will be a private affair, for Sebastian and I as well as your friend. Not that we would see him, at least face to face." He turned to his butler, who handed Roxas a list. Confused, that didn't defer the blond as he took it. He began to flip through the rather long list, glancing on various names on the paper.

"This is a list of names that -" Sebastian was shocked as Roxas stopped flipping the pages and handed him back the list.

"I'm not changing my name."

Ciel turned to the blond. "What?" He glared.

Roxas refused to back down. "I said, I'm not changing my name. I just can't do that."

He just wouldn't change his name, he couldn't. He didn't think that his new employer would understand, but he just couldn't. It was the only thing that made him him. The only thing he really and truly owned.

"It would be practical -" Sebastian started, trying to hand the blond the list again, who refused to take it.

"I decline." That was his final word, and nothing would change his mind.

Sebastian studied the Nobody with a poker face before turning to his master for his direction.

Ciel shrugged. "Fine. Keep your name. Hopefully it won't cause any trouble."

Roxas smiled. This result was something that he was obviously pleased with, Ciel knew that. "Let Sebastian and I prepare and plan for the aftermath after the funeral. You may leave and rest now. Sebastian will tend to you in the morning."

"O-okay..." Roxas replied softly, slowly making his way towards the door and out of the room. He reached the door, about to leave, when he stopped in the front of the wood. He turned to the lord and bowed deeply. "Thank you, Ciel."

_Servants don't address their masters in such a familiar manner. _

Sebastian watched as Ciel just waved him off. "Don't mention it. Now get some sleep, we have a lot of work to do tomorrow."

Roxas rose from his bow. "G-good night!" He scurried off back to his room.

The young master let out a pent up sigh. "… Go after him. I'm sure that he's going to need help tending to his clothes," Ciel said as he waved Sebastian out of the room, who bowed.

"Yes, young master," Sebastian replied. Ciel eyed him from his eye as the demon left to obey his young master's wishes.

After the butler left, the Earl tsked, taking a seat on his chair towards his desk. He shuffled the papers, looking for the ones that were key for the situation. He turned to the grandfather clock to find the time to be a little past midnight.

He sighed. "What have I gotten myself into?"

* * *

><p><em>Oh my god what in the hell am I doing? <em>was Roxas' mantra as he made his way back into his room, too engrossed in his thoughts to notice a certain demonic butler trailing after him at a somewhat close distance.

So far this mission has gone from okay, to almost finished, to a screw-up mistake, to horrible, to completely and utterly fucked.

But he had already knew that.

What was strange was that whole idea of a funeral, that ceremony to celebrate the dead. It was… disturbing, to say the least. Not to mention terribly and outright cruel. How devastating could it be to hear that someone you cared for has moved on from the world, but it's almost like rubbing it in the person's face that the person is dead, and that there is no way to bring them back.

But that's true, isn't it?

If it was a real funeral, yes. But this one, this fake one, was a sham. He wasn't dead, just faking death. It's disrespectful to the whole practice.

And oh _god _he was going to trick Axel, his only friend in the Organization.

Could he live with the guilt?

"Lord Roxas, you should be more careful."

A velvet voice snapped him from his thoughts and the Nobody found himself about to walk right into his bedroom door to find it quickly open. He lost his sense of balance and found himself tripping from the change in flooring, falling down about to hit the floor.

Before he could greet the ground with his face, a white, gloved hand caught his waist and brought him back to his feet, and Roxas found his face buried in the expensive fabrics that covered the Phantomhive's butler's chest. He let out a yip before struggling in vain to release himself from the demon.

Sebastian let out a chuckle from the blond's struggles. "Do not worry, Lord Roxas. My master has not betrayed you, therefore neither have I. He has sent me over to help you, and I am to respect his wishes."

"W-with what?" the blond squeaked. Even if they were not on the same side, this man - or perhaps demon was the word now - gave him the creeps. Which, he thought, was rightly in place. Maybe one day he'll find out just how in the world the demon of darkness ended up with such a strong heart. Or soul or whatever. He didn't really care for the technical terms at this point.

The butler proved that actions spoke louder than words as he picked up the blond easily and carried him to the bed, placing him in a sitting position on the mattress. Before the Nobody could comment, the raven-haired man/demon reached up the blond's abdomen and started to unbutton his vest. Roxas grew wide-eyed, blushed, and stammered, "W-what -"

"Just undressing, Lord Roxas. Remember what I said this morning?" the butler smoothly cut him off, undoing the laces of the shoes and pulling off the silk socks as slowly as possible. "And please do not struggle, as it makes my job more difficult ant this longer than necessary."

"…." Roxas stared as Sebastian moved up to unbutton his collar now without a ribbon as it was left in the city, staying as still as possible. This was actually quite easy, used to staying still. He had a lot of buttons, he thought off-handedly, when Sebastian was finally reaching the end of the shirt.

He was about to pull off the sleeve when Roxas asked, "Is this really necessary?" Sebastian replied with a dip of the head.

"I do hope you're paying attention, Lord Roxas, as I am deliberately going very slowly to teach you. Unless you enjoy being undressed by someone else's hand other than your own?" Sebastian smirked at Roxas' completely red face as he began to speed up the process.

Within a span of three seconds, Roxas was completely redressed into his black silk pajamas and was about to tucked into bed by a demonic hand. He immediately rose from his position, having goosebumps.

"Is there anything wrong?" Sebastian feigned concern. Oh, Roxas could tell. The demon was quite amused with the recent turn of events.

"Just, uh, I'm good, thanks," he muttered, tucking himself under the sheets. "You can, uh, go back to Ciel. Thanks." He hid himself under the covers, waiting for the weight to shift off the bed and out the door.

After what seemed to be an eternity, Sebastian finally stood. "Very well, I shall tend to you in the morning, Lord Roxas." Roxas heard a glass bottle be placed on his table and peeked from underneath to eye it. He turned to the butler, who smiled at the curious gaze.

"I'm sure that you would be plagued by nightmares, am I correct? This would prevent such a thing. I would suggest you take it." The Phantomhive's head butler headed towards the door and back to his master. "Have pleasant dreams," were his last words as he closed the door, leaving the blond finally alone for the first time since waking that morning which truly _was_ an eternity ago.

Not wasting another moment, Roxas promptly rose from the bed and took the flask, studying the dark, bubbling liquid it contained. He gave it a few seconds before opening the window and dumping the potion outside.

New master or not, Roxas didn't trust that demon just yet.

* * *

><p>Ciel dipped his quill for the final time, wondering vaguely as to why he was using such an old fashioned writing utensil in the first place when he heard a knock on the door. He ignored it and continued to work on the papers. Without an answer, Sebastian stepped in, carrying a silver tray of what the lord presumed to be his tea.<p>

"Hmm, little late, aren't we?" the Earl said, expecting his tea a good hour ago.

"My apologies, young master. It would seem that there was a little problem that I was forced to attend to." Sebastian poured the tea into a cup, handing it to the young master along with a plate of scones. The demon didn't say anything further, and Ciel was forced to look up from his work to see that creature that Roxas was communicating with earlier that afternoon.

"… Was Roxas informed?" He took a sip from his tea before reaching out to taste a scone. Jasmine and honey.

"Not yet, my lord," Sebastian replied, watching the subordinate carefully as it stepped forward and placed a note on Ciel's desk, its flaming red color contrasting from the rest of the egg white sheets. Ciel eyed the paper, tracing the edges with his finger. He put down his tea and eyed the Samurai.

The Samurai said nothing as it inclined his head to the paper, obviously wanting Ciel to read it. Ciel looked over to Sebastian for safety reasons.

"I do not sense any abnormalities from the paper. As he refused to hand it to me, clearly it is a note addressed to you. Would you like for me to open it, to see if it's safe?" Sebastian reached out for the paper, to find himself quite amused at how the creature steadied its stance, hand on the katana it was ready to unleash.

"I suppose I should read it then," Ciel said, taking the red manuscript in his hands and opened it carefully. Ciel began to read.

_God damn it Roxas, I can't believe you did something so reckless! I'm on my way right now._

The letter ended abruptly. Ciel eyed the Samurai. "Why did you give this to me?"

Instead of an answer, the subordinate gave a slight bow and disappeared into a pool of darkness that appeared on the floor.

"Sebastian," Ciel said, "Go and wake up Roxas." He rose from his seat, made his way to the door and bit his lip.

"We haven't much time."

* * *

><p>AN: I do not feel like beta-ing this at the moment, which I know I'm going to regret so much when I read this over later, so excuse any errors would you kindly. At least I published it by the end of the month. Hooray for Leap Day.

Damnit these fandoms are in the backseat. I see you driving Tsuna!

Anyway, supposedly this should be monthly, if all goes well. Thank you _Solar Flare013 _for reminding me about this month. Even _if _you threatened me with fire. Lol fire. xD Feel free to go and bug me about it if it isn't posted by at least the 20th of the month.

Have the next part written about/started. It's gonna be something _really _different. If all goes to plan.

By the way, I screwed up the last chapter. Roxas asked Ciel three questions and used them all up with this request. The way it was worded made it sound that Roxas had four questions and has one left. No, he had three and used them up. Maybe I'll play on that on a later chapter. Eh, who knows?

… Think that's about it…

Please review!

Maybe it'll motivate me or something.


	6. Beautillion Ball

Quick Vague Recap: After purchasing a coffin from the interested-in-the-person-without-a-heart Undertaker, Ciel arranges for Roxas' funeral. After the Nobody goes to bed, Sam - the Samurai Nobody - arrives with a note of warning. Axel cometh. *Cue the _dun dunn dunnnnn_*

A/N: Lol. Happy Tenth Anniversary, Kingdom Hearts!

* * *

><p>It was a dark and stormy night. Rain that was so harsh fell upon the ground caused for it for turn into mush. The trees were swaying. The sky was black. It was as if the earth was in mourning. And perhaps it was.<p>

Or at least, that's what he wanted to believe.

As he stood on top of the tombstone, his face was numb from the cold. He picked up the flowers and placed them close to his face. Taking a deep breath, he smelled the rotten decay of the flowers. Although, it was strange since the flowers looked fresh.

He pricked his fingers from the thorns, but he paid the pain no mind as he snapped the stems of the flowers in half and quickly pulled off the petals from the flowers, letting them scatter in the wind.

What color were those petals anyway? Perhaps white. Would the blood from his fingers stain the petals?

He cannot show emotion. He couldn't even if he wanted to do so.

But was the rain always this salty?

He turned from the grave and headed to his carriage, ready to depart from this world and never look back as far as he knew.

As he got inside, he didn't look back and see two figures emerge from the trees and slowly make their approach to the grave as the carriage took off.

As the carriage brought the man further and further away from the cemetery, he left his regrets lie.

At least, the regrets that he knew.

Little did he know that he would regret not looking back, not seeing those who were about to disturb the dead.

Little did he know, that if he did looked back, he would have discovered the truth so much more sooner.

Even it was preferred by everyone that he didn't at all.

* * *

><p>Watching the man leave the grave, one of the figures sighed and cleared his throat. "I thought that he would never leave." He didn't wait for a response before speaking once again. "As soon as he leaves the cemetery, let's go."<p>

Although he was barely heard over this storm, his companion heard him just fine. Not a second after, the carriage left through the gates.

The figure faced his companion, and he could see a ghost of a grin on his face. In response he frowned and reaffirmed the cape he was wearing as well as taking the time to place a firm grip on his hat. He stepped out of the cover of trees, and carefully made his way to the grave, using his cane to help him walk to it.

His companion just followed, watching him, seemingly waiting for him to trip up from the wind. Although he lost his footing once or twice, he did not fall. He pointed to the tombstone with his cane, and addressed him.

"Hurry, Sebastian."

Sebastian bowed. "Yes, my lord." He rose from his bow and took out a shovel. The butler stabbed the shovel into the ground and began to dig.

The storm picked up, and the hat flew from the man's head.

Or, the hat flew from a child's head. Sebastian caught it in his hand before it could fly further away. As soon as the wind took away his hat, his cape was released as well and it was flying in the wind, revealing the master to be a young boy, who couldn't be more than thirteen. He shielded his eyes as reached blindly for the hat. Sebastian handed it to him and shielded him from the rain.

"You should have listened to me when I requested that you stay home for this endeavor," the butler lectured, causing for his master to scowl. "Would you like to return home and I will bring the coffin there? You look like you are about to drown in a sea."

Ciel placed the hat back on his head and thought about his servant's words. He shook his head. "That comment was unnecessary, but yes. I believe it would be better if I were to meet up with you at the manor. I can't work or think like this." He took a final glance at the grave.

Sebastian smiled before bending down to retrieve his young master from the ground. Carrying him bridal style, the butler whispered, "Close your eyes and we will be at the door. I will come back to retrieve our little friend here." He looked back at the coffin for a brief moment before turning back to his master, who closed his eyes as told.

Sebastian smiled and quickly made his way back to the mansion, taking about three seconds. "We have arrived." Ciel opened his eyes and quickly released his grip on his servant. He sighed, waiting impatiently for Sebastian to open the door.

Without further delay, the butler did so and Ciel hastily walked in, leaving quite a trail of water. He sneezed before shivering.

"Would you like for me to draw you a bath while I'm here?" he asked, giving his master a look of concern. Ciel shook his head and bit his lip.

"Go back and retrieve the coffin. We need to make sure that he's still alive."

* * *

><p>Axel didn't understand. What went wrong?<p>

It was simple enough, a test for Roxas to see if he could pass or fail as a leader of the organization. Everyone had to take this test, and it was a make or break it. Those who failed were turned into Dusks, a horrible fate that nobody - 'cuse the pun - wanted to befall.

Axel remembered his own test, having to set fire to that town that he didn't really care to remember. The screams of all those people before the shrieks of the burning failures of Nobodies didn't bother him at all. What was expected? Nobodies had no emotions.

Except for one…

He looked at his hands and willingly summoned fire to them, setting that photo aflame.

Those ashes that remained in the coffin, were they really the remains of his favorite fallen comrade?

What were these feelings? These feelings of loss and regret?

That was what disturbed him the most. How could he, a Nobody, have such feelings over a fallen comrade?

There was nothing he could do, however. The threat of that mysterious character of Sebastian Michaels has caused for the Organization to cease all ties to the new world holding one curious Ciel Phantomhive. This news of Roxas' failure, the higher numbers have closed off all contact with the world until further notice.

Axel paid it no mind, have a total disregard for the strict rules. And he did, by visiting the grave.

He didn't know yet if he regret doing so, but now all methods were closed off, with no loopholes that anyone could find.

He sensed a presence, causing for him to cease his mental, rhetorical questions.

"Get out of here, you puppet!" He yelled to the open hall, where someone shied before retreating away.

Well, at least the Organization would recover from the loss of their unique keywielder. This replica, this clone, _Xion _was her name, would take the place of the keybearer's Nobody.

_Xion_ as in imaginary.

But it wasn't the same. Even with the same sky blue eyes matching another's, it wasn't the same.

_Wait… _

He shook his head. No, Sora couldn't do anything. Sora didn't even _know _anything. If all was according to plan, he would soon be arriving at Castle Oblivion. Axel had been assigned his next mission. He slammed his suitcase, done with packing. He was to be there for a _while_.

Perhaps he could lose the memories of the blond there.

* * *

><p>Ciel finally allowed himself to breath out a sigh of relief. "That was close. Too close. Never do this again."<p>

Roxas nodded, weary. Without any comment, he collapsed on his mattress.

Ciel wouldn't leave without hearing one, however. And Roxas knew that.

"I just want to sleep for at least a day," the blond whispered, closing his eyes as tears threatened to fall from them.

Ciel thought about it. The burns on his new chest piece were already starting to heal, and they were burns of the third degree. Eventually, the Earl nodded. "I'll give you a grace period of a day. After tomorrow, however, we need to get moving. Elizabeth will be returning soon."

Roxas said nothing underneath his pillows. Ciel watched him for a few moments before got up from the mattress.

"Good night, Roxas." Ciel said lightly as he made his way towards the door.

Roxas couldn't even give a proper reply, quickly falling asleep. Ciel doubt he would have received one anyway as closed the door behind him.

"My lord?" Sebastian's voice said from the darkness, moving out of the shadows to escort his master to his chambers.

As they walked to their destination, Ciel asked his butler, "Did he take the potion you gave him?"

Sebastian shook his head. "He did not, my lord."

At this news, Ciel frowned. "I see." He cleared his throat. "Could you prepare another?"

"It would take some time to gather the ingredients, but yes, I could recreate the potion," Sebastian replied, opening the door to the master's bedroom.

Ciel grabbed the doorknob, refusing the demon entry. He narrowed his eyes. "Well get to it. We have a lot to do before Elizabeth arrives. And don't make it so obvious this time. Even I wouldn't have drank it."

* * *

><p>Roxas' head hurt. It took him a while, but he was able to shift a little in his bed."Ugh." He held his head as he got up, not enjoying the dry taste in his mouth.<p>

"O-oh! He awakes!" Roxas blinked to find the maid that he had only seen for a few moments when he had first arrived.

"H-hello," Roxas rasped, desperately craving something to drink to get rid of this taste.

The maid blushed as he handed him a glass of water. Roxas gave her a word of thanks as he drank.

However, the water would not parch his thirst, even after he drank the whole cup. He looked for a refill, eying his pants pocket.

Would an elixir quench this burning fire of pain in his non-heart?

_"How could you do this? To the Organization, to _me?_"_

Roxas closed his eyes tightly, not wanting to remember anymore.

He felt his throat suddenly go cold, and dropped the glass onto the bed. He coughed harshly, gasping for air.

Meirin - that was her name, Roxas recalled - gasped, "Oh dear!" She bought a water pitcher into view and hurried to refill the glass.

In her haste, however, she lost her footing and spilled the water over the blond's head instead. She widened her eyes, sputtering inaudible apologies that Roxas couldn't understand when she covered his face with a cloth to wipe his hair. He was surprised at her strong grip, and she let out a small gasp as his hair continued to stand, regardless of the water, when she removed the cloth from his head.

She blushed, smiling as she poured what was left of the water in Roxas' glass. There was about a fourth of a cup left, and she brought it to his lips, and Roxas welcomed the cold water that seemed to lessen the dryness in his throat.

After finishing his glass, she exclaimed, "T-the young master!"

Roxas opened his eyes but before he could let in another word she scampered off. He sighed, laying back in his bed, and listened to the rain patter on the glass window. Before he realized, tears started to stream from his eyes.

"Don't go back to sleep."

The blond got up from bed again to acknowledged the presence of the lord of the house at his door, leaning at it with a passive face with Sebastian smiling beside him. Roxas wiped his eyes to rid the tears that fell against his will, still not facing the two.

Ciel studied him and didn't turn to his butler when he ordered, "Go prepare us some tea, Sebastian. Report back here when finished," as the two watched Roxas shiver.

The butler bowed and without a reply took his leave, to do as he was told. Ciel walked into the room with the same noble air around him, as always. He took a seat on the bed, something that Roxas didn't notice until the lord spoke. The blond turned to the Earl, with a dead expression that Ciel didn't like.

"What do you remember?" Ciel went straight to the point, not even waiting for the tea to arrive. He eyed the glass by the table.

Roxas stared at Ciel blankly. "Last night?"

Ciel shook his head, eye watching carefully. "Two nights ago. I've let you rest for an extra night as was your request."

Roxas looked out the window again, watching the raindrops hit the window before sliding down onto the earth by the cause of gravity.

"Thank you for respecting my wishes," he said quietly, not turning to address his new master.

Ciel was annoyed. He had given the blond an extra day. He was no longer allowed to mourn on the situation. "You rested longer than planned, and now everything's off schedule. You will suffer the consequences as necessary. Are you ready?"

The Nobody nodded, still not looking at the Earl. "As ready as I'll ever be," he murmured quietly.

"Liar," Ciel called him out on it, looking out the window with him. "This too shall pass," he told the blond.

And he knew that it will. No matter how much pain one is in, time will continue on, whether they're ready or not.

And even if Roxas wasn't ready, Ciel was going to push him forward.

"I…" The blond let himself smile - a very miniscule smile, but it was still a smile. He wiped his face from the excess tears before facing to the Earl. "I guess you're right."

Ciel rolled his eye. "What are you talking about? I _am_ right." He rose from the bed and made his way towards the exit.

"Thanks, Ciel," The blond thanked once more, watching the child leave to quickly be replaced by the boy's butler, and Roxas caught the split second of eye contact between them.

"Good morning, Lord Roxas," Sebastian greeted, going to his closet as Ciel exited. "Would you like to know your schedule for today?"

Roxas blinked before turning to Sebastian, away from the door. He had a set schedule? Sure, he was given missions, but after doing so he was able to do whatever.

Ciel sighed, he had so much to teach this new unidentified chess piece. In spite of that, he knew that it would be worth it. "You do," he called from the hall.

The Nobody heard the advice. "Yes?" Roxas half-asked Sebastian.

He heard Ciel groan and say, "And I expect you to be in my presence in ten minutes or less," before Sebastian moved to close the door to block out the sound as well as grab the blond's attention with his outfit of the day in his hand.

"Certainly, Lord Roxas," he started, moving towards the blond's bed. Roxas moved to get up but stopped when Sebastian raised a hand. "Please do not get up, Lord Roxas. As a butler of the Phantomhive manor, it is my duty to attend to you."

Roxas nodded, moving to the side of his bed and sitting at the edge of it. "I forgot, Ciel told you to accommodate me as I'm a guest." He looked to the rain again.

"You forget, Lord Roxas," Sebastian said as he reached his side. "You are no longer just a guest. As an additional member of the household on an intimate level, one of very slight lower status than the young master, I am bound to serve you as well."

Roxas jumped as Sebastian took hold of his arm to pull him to the demon's chest. The butler swiped the clothing slowly, and Roxas experienced a quick flash of cold air hitting his bare chest before the fabric was exchanged black to white and long, white gloved fingers buttoned it. The same hands reached out for a lilac purple vest, ready to put the lean arms through them but before doing so, the raven-haired butler looked up to one of his masters, whose eyes were unfocused in his thoughts.

"Watching carefully, Lord Roxas?" He asked with a smile, bringing Roxas back from his mind. The sight he was welcomed by set the blond somewhat off-edge.

He managed to gather his courage and eventually Roxas nodded. "T-thanks for going slowly, I'm sure that I'll get it now."

Sebastian let out a chuckle, surprising the blond. He answered the confused look, "Masters such you no longer have the need to dress yourselves. I shall be attending to you after helping the young master every morning."

"C-can't I just get my own butler?" Roxas squeaked, not liking this situation at all.

He jumped slightly when Sebastian gave him a small chuckle in reply. "Of course not, Lord Roxas. Young master would never approve of such a thing." He moved down, pulling down the bottom pants to exchange it for royal purple shorts. Sebastian pulled up the dark brown garters before the white knee-high socks and black flat platform shoes before leisurely lacing them.

Roxas was antagonized, why was the butler dragging this longer than necessary if he no longer needed to learn how to dress himself?

Watching Sebastian smirk after pulling the last lace into a bow, Roxas realized that the demon was enjoying touching his body. The thought slightly disturbing him, he kicked his just recently laced shoes at the demon and quickly moved to the other side of the bed, away from the butler, who continued to smirk.

"Today you are to be quickly tutored in the ways of the aristocrats as the young master tells Elizabeth of the situation," Sebastian finally finished, Roxas adjusting to the sky blue ribbon around his neck before freezing at the name 'Elizabeth'.

He gulped. "W-what will he tell her?"

"Just of the ceremony," was the smooth reply. He took a glance at his silver pocket watch as he rose from the Nobody's bed, turning to the blond. "The tea would start to grow cold, Lord Roxas."

_Everything just felt so _cold…

He shivered, focusing on the demon's words.

Lord… he didn't need such a title. He was unworthy of being called a lord. "D-do you have to call me that?" he asked as he got up to follow the butler to his new master. Sebastian slightly tilted his head before he opened the door and motioned for Roxas to follow him to where Ciel was waiting. Roxas slugged along until Sebastian commented, "We have only three minutes," resulting in speeding the blond's pace.

The silence was deafening and, as all silences that Roxas had with the demon, awkward. Roxas wanted a distraction, but couldn't think of what to say. Memories of the funeral swirled in his mind as he shook his head in an attempt to get rid of them. Unfortunately it could not be so.

_"I… I thought we were friends…"_

_"We are!"_

_"Friends don't do this to each other."_

Sebastian said nothing as he led the blond down the hall to the salon for tea. Roxas slowly shook his head, taking steady breaths. Composing himself, the Nobody closely followed, making sure to study and memorize the passage of the mansion. Before long they reached the doors, and Sebastian took one long look at the lord impostor, eyes studying and curious.

The blond frowned. "What?"

"Lord Roxas has arrived, young master," Sebastian introduced as he opened the door, not answering the Nobody.

"Took you long enough," Ciel said, sitting down by the high tea. "And with eight seconds left to spare." Roxas flinched, and it wasn't unnoticed by the Earl and butler. Ciel gestured to the chair across from him. "Sit, Roxas. Come and have tea with me."

After taking glances at the one beside him and at the one across from him, slowly, Roxas walked across the room as Ciel and Sebastian held a conversation only with their eyes, or eye in the Earl's case.

As Roxas finally reached the chair, Ciel slightly tilted his head down and Sebastian left the room, leaving the two to themselves.

"Try the tea, Roxas," Ciel suggested, tapping his spoon to the teapot.

"O-okay," Roxas poured himself some tea and took a sip, making his head clear up.

After he placed his cup back in its saucer, Ciel asked, "Remember anything?"

* * *

><p><em>"How is he?"<em>

_A chuckle. "Concerned, young master?"_

_"Of course I am, you fool, those burns - !"_

_"Look, young master. Look at them." _

_Roxas felt his body be raised slightly, to show Ciel the flesh wound around his waist._

"_Even now, he heals, young master. They will heal within a few hours at this rate."_

_"… Very well then. Lay him down."_

_He winced, making everything even more blurry. _

_"Oh dear, this was unexpected."_

_"What?"_

_"It's still attached, should I pull it out?"_

_A sharp pain exploded in Roxas' chest, making him scream. _

_"Something's wrong, Sebastian!"_

* * *

><p>Roxas shivered, shaking his head.<p>

Ciel narrowed his eye at the blond but nevertheless continued, "Regardless of what happened, we're off schedule." He took a sip of his tea, keeping note of Roxas spacing out when asked about memory. "The ceremony is to be in a few hours."

Roxas nodded and brought the cup to his lips, ready to take another sip.

Then the words sunk in.

He ended up dropping his teacup, shattering the cup and spilling his tea. "W-what?"

Ciel ignored the broken shards of porcelain as he reached out for another biscuit. "Cannot be helped. Elizabeth had made everything more complicated." The Earl groaned at the thought. "Her family is to be arriving shortly. Perhaps if we're lucky, by evening for the ceremony."

Roxas blinked. "H-how -"

"Don't worry, Sebastian will tutor you," Ciel comforted, eye back to the door. Roxas turned to follow his gaze to find the head Phantomhive butler clad with glasses and a long baton.

"Please come along, Lord Roxas, we don't have much time," called the velvet voice from the door, waiting for the blond.

Roxas didn't move, looking to the Earl. Ciel raised an eyebrow. Was that… _fear?_

"… Ciel?" Roxas asked, voice quivering.

"This is your first test, Roxas," Ciel said in reply, looking at the tray for another treat to eat. "To see and confirm if you have what it takes to work for me."

Roxas nodded, confidence coming back. "I'll do my best. I promise, you won't regret this, Ciel." Hastily, he left his place and his master and was next to Sebastian, who began to lead the lord-in-training to a study hall, leaving the Earl alone.

Ciel looked down into his still almost full cup chamomile of tea, eye somewhat murky.

As the footsteps faded, Ciel relaxed into his chair. "That was close," he breathed, looking out to the tray of cookies. He plucked one from the tray, bringing it to his lips. He took a small bite before giving a face of disgust. "Mint."

* * *

><p>"What do you report, No. VIII?"<p>

Piercing mint green eyes narrowed to apathetic golden ones, its owner furious at the situation. "He's gone."

"Are you sure?"

"… Yes."

"Very Well. This will be kept off the records. What is your input on the situation?"

"..." The redhead looked away. "Leave it for now. He will be in high alerts. We'll move back in sometime in the near future, but it's too soon to do so now."

The second in command nodded, agreeing with his old friend. "Very well. Take care of the puppet, will you?"

The Flurry of Dancing Flames narrowed his eyes at the Lunar Divider.

"Shortly. You will leave for the CO mission as soon as the guest of honor arrives."

The redhead had no expression, cold and unfeeling. "Should I go fetch him?"

"XI was assigned to do so, just be patient," was SaÏx's reply.

Axel growled in response.

* * *

><p>"This isn't bad," Roxas commented off-handedly. At least he wasn't in front of a crowd hitting a ball in the air for their sole amusement. He wobbled between three stacks of books divided between his head and hands, balancing on a small ball with one leg that was starting to make its way towards the stairs.<p>

"Careful, Lord Roxas," Sebastian warned, watching from the bottom of said stairs.

"Right." Roxas' wobbling straightened itself.

"Tell me how you will address the other nobles," Sebastian asked as he took out his pocket watch, watching the time.

"Treat everyone with the upmost respect and only speak when spoken to. Take everything with a smile and come up with witty retorts if insulted," Roxas recited perfectly, frowning slightly as he thought about his words. "But... I don't believe I'm ready for that."

"Do not worry about it," said a voice from the top of the stairs that came from opening a door to the hall where they were practicing Roxas' sense of grace. "I can handle those for you."

Roxas turned to the voice and ended up losing his balance. He managed to somersault and land on his feet, but fell to the ground when Sebastian moved to catch the falling stack of books, and did so without any harm coming to the blond. The two ended face to face with one another and, under such close proximity, Roxas quickly crab walked towards the wall and away from the butler, hyperventilating slightly. Both the butler and master laughed, making Roxas blush slightly from embarrassment.

"Still have that habit, don't you," Ciel stated as fact, making Roxas shake his head in denial as the blush died down. He was disappointed in himself. Now that he would be with Sebastian often, he must get used to his presence.

Seeing as he would not be getting a voiced reply, Ciel turned to his butler. "Have you taught him proper etiquette yet?"

Sebastian replied, "I was just about to do so during lunch," as Roxas moved to pick himself up from the floor.

"Excellent," Ciel said, turning to the blond. "Roxas, lead the way."

Roxas blinked before realizing what he was commanded. "E-eh? Me?"

The lord and butler nodded, motioning for Roxas to lead the way. "You do know your way along the mansion, correct?" Ciel asked. "You _have_ been studying the layout?"

"Uh… I have…" Roxas answered and began to lead with slight hesitation. Ciel and Sebastian followed the hesitant Nobody down the stairs and down the next hallway. The blond turned to his followers, but quickly turned back to the front, nervous under their calculating gazes.

He walked along the route that he believed would bring them to the dining room that he was brought to with Elizabeth the first day he arrived. He could hear Ciel and Sebastian talking, but paid it no mind as he needed to concentrate.

Left, straight, right, left… Roxas struggled to remember, as during that time he was paying more attention to Sebastian Michaelis than surroundings. Perhaps the best idea at the time, but now he was paying for the consequences.

Ciel and Sebastian ceased their conversation and watched in silence as Roxas led them to the dining hall, actually impressed at how far he knew where to go. That is, until the blond made a slight error.

He turned right at a fork in the hall, but was unable to keep moving forward when Sebastian grabbed his shoulder.

"So close, we would have made it in another turn next hallway," Ciel sighed, taking the lead as Sebastian disappeared.

Roxas widened his eyes and couldn't help but let out a gasp at the missing companion. He stared at Ciel, who rolled his eye. "I have a very low tolerance for stupidity," he told the Nobody, who nodded as he took note of it. "But if you must know, he's one hell of a butler."

Roxas narrowed his eyes as they reached the hall. He understood the wordplay. "I see what you did there," is what he replied as he followed Ciel to the table. He moved towards the seat that he had taken the four nights ago. Before he could sit in it, however, Ciel slapped his hand and pointed to the opposite end of the long table.

"There."

Following the raised finger, Roxas quickly scampered to his new spot and took a seat. He studied the array of silverware in front of him, seeing them for the second time but paying close attention to it now, as it was different. But before he could actually see them, Sebastian cleared his throat, making the two seated turn to the door.

"Young master, it seems that they have arrived soonerthan expected."

As they were across a distance, it was difficult but Roxas could hear the Earl swear furiously as he moved to Sebastian, motioning for the blond to follow.

"You're going to have to learn this as you go, as we have to dine with the Midfords now."

* * *

><p>"Ciel~!" Lizzy glomped on the Phantomhive Earl as soon as they walked into the lobby, making Roxas try and move discreetly as possible and scoot away from the pair.<p>

His sapphire eyes trailed over to three others by the door, supposedly being assisted by Sebastian, who was next to them and taking their coats. He felt all eyes from that group look towards him so he glanced back to his master and his betrothed.

That emotion of love was a peculiar one, as it would seem that Ciel didn't love Lizzy as much as she loved him. Roxas noticed as Ciel smiled a smile that Roxas felt to be forced before taking his fiancée's hand to his lips to place a kiss. Unlike Roxas, Lizzy didn't seem to notice.

"Elizabeth," the Earl greeted, looking to the rest of her family. "Marquis Midford, Aunt Frances, Edward." He motioned to Roxas. "Allow me to introduce - "

He was interrupted as Lizzy detached from his person and latched onto to Roxas. "Roxas! I've missed you so much!"

"Elizabeth," the woman gave a look of disappointment. "Do not touch the undesirables."

_Worthless._

Roxas winced.

"Mother! Don't call Roxas that!" Lizzy exclaimed, frowning but listening to her mother released Roxas.

Her mother tsked, motioning for her daughter to come back to her side, which Lizzy did. "We do not know who he is nor who is he related to. Clearly he is a suspicious character and does not belong here or anywhere."

_Does not belong._

Roxas shivered. This woman was frightening - more so than Larxene, and _that_ was saying something.

He felt a hand on his shoulder, and turned to his new master. "Aunt Francis," Ciel said, "Please do not insult him. He is a part of the Phantomhive family, in both name and in blood."

Roxas turned to Ciel. Did he say in blood?

"Has he proven himself?" She asked in response, "Is he worth risking your name if you're wrong?"

"He has," Ciel replied smoothly. "And I am not wrong. Roxas is a Phantomhive."

The tension in the air was thick before the Marchioness turned to the Earl's butler. "And _you _have the indecency to continue to keep your hair in that manner. You and your master!" She inspected Roxas head to toe. "And now _you_! You most and worst of all!" She grabbed the blond's hair, struggling to bend it to gravity's will. But the golden locks just wouldn't relent and continued to defy gravity. That didn't stop the Marchioness, however, even with the Nobody's cry of pain.

"Mother, I rather enjoy his hairstyle!" Lizzy told her mother, tugging on her sleeve. "Please…"

The Marchioness didn't relent. "All of you, clean yourselves up!"

Ciel tilted his head and Sebastian quickly left them, supposedly to tidy his hair and perhaps tend to the late lunch they were to have.

"Francis, dear," the Marquis finally interacted himself into the conversation. "Please, don't be so hard on them. Let me him see for myself." Finally, Francis listened to her husband and released the blond's hair, making him rub his head in an attempt to soothe his skull.

Ciel nudged Roxas towards Elizabeth's father, making him jump before moving towards the man. After getting in close proximity, about a foot away, Roxas quickly bowed. "Hello, Marquis Midford. My name is - "

"Roxas, I know." Alexis studied him, walking around the blond without another word, inspecting him. Roxas resisted the urge to tremble under the scrutinizing gaze before he suddenly found himself in a bone-crushing hug. "Gak!"

"So cute!" Alexis exclaimed, burying his face in Roxas' mess of hair. "Why are the Phantomhives so cute?"

He could see where Elizabeth got her obsession with cuteness from. 'Help me,' Roxas mouthed to the final member of the Midford family, who was distracted from his death glare to Ciel before realizing that the blond was struggling for air.

"Father, I believe that you are choking him," Edward pointed out, making his father release the blond, who coughed as per instruction by his lungs.

"Sorry about that, Roxas," Alexis apologized, patting the blond to help him out. It resulted with Roxas tumbling from his strength. "But I just couldn't help myself!"

"I-it's okay," Roxas replied after he stopped coughing, seeing Ciel converse with Lizzy and her mother about some things that he couldn't hear as Alexis continued to gush about his gravity-defying hair.

He was surprised when Ciel moved away from the Midford women and to him. "Elizabeth has informed me that everyone will soon arrive, but regardless of that we still need to go over your etiquette." He held out his hand. "Please come with me."

Nodding, the blond took the offered hand. "Right."

"Marquis Midford, Aunt Frances, Edward, Elizabeth, if you would follow Roxas and I," Ciel called as he led everyone to the dining hall, which Sebastian had readjusted so instead of setting two it now six, as Roxas assumed.

Roxas noticed something was different, someone was missing. He removed himself from Ciel's hand, who frowned at this action, but Roxas ignored it as he made his way to the young blonde. "Where's Paula?" he asked Elizabeth, who tilted her head.

"Paula?" She widened her eyes in understanding. "Shhh," she brought the blond lower and away from her mother and closer back towards Ciel. "Don't ask questions like that," she whispered, "Mother wouldn't agree, and you already know how much she likes you, no?"

Roxas looked down. "Not that much."

He heard Ciel faintly snort in front of them.

"She's part of the help, so she's with the rest of the servants. Don't worry about her." Elizabeth clapped her hands and grinned. "Now come on, let's all get acquainted before the rest of the nobles arrive! After all, we're going to be family now. And Mother is going to have to accept you. Eventually anyway."

"It took her a while, even for me," Ciel commented quietly. He grabbed the blond's hand, pulling him away from his fiancée. "But she will accept you. She has to. Now come along, show me some of your etiquette."

"Right this way," Sebastian addressed the four Midfords and escorted them to the other side of the dining room as Ciel squeezed Roxas' hand as to not jump from Sebastian's sudden reappearance. He's seriously going to have to fix that.

"Steady your nerves and follow me," Ciel muttered as he dragged Roxas to the seat that he sat in four nights ago, with Elizabeth and her family across from the Phantomhive family, and Roxas noticed that the Marquis took the seat that he was sitting in the last time he was in this room. "We have to do this down to the wire. Watch me."

After everyone had gone and got themselves seated, Sebastian began to bring out the late brunch.

"With the beautillion ball is to occur in a few hours, this will only be a three course meal. First is a gazpacho soup with avocado crème fraiche," Sebastian informed the nobles plus the lord-in-training as he placed the small bowl in front of them.

Roxas took time to study the various silverware in front of him. What the hell - when he ate with just Ciel and Elizabeth it was simple - just a knife, spoon, and fork. Now there were like three pieces of everything! Why must they be so fancy? They were lucky that Roxas knew how to even use the tableware, being used to chopsticks.

The Nobody slightly turned his head to Ciel, confused on what to do. He watched him pick up the second smallest spoon and used it to bring the soup to his lips. He turned to see everyone else doing it before doing the same, albeit with a shaking hand.

"So... Roxas, is it?" The Marchioness called from across the table in between spoonfuls. "Tell us, how did you meet my daughter and her betrothed?"

Roxas almost dropped his soup spoon as struggled to answer. "I..."

"I have told you, Mother," Elizabeth answered for him smoothly, "I met him down by the market."

Roxas gave her a look of thanks, but his relief was short lived as Francis continued, "And what were you doing in the market?" looking straight at the blond and not addressing her daughter at all.

"U-uh..."

"He was looking for me," Ciel answered for him, done with his soup.

Sebastian moved to take the finished dish from everyone, save Roxas for he was too nervous to eat, and exchanged it for another. "Here is a chipotle grilled steak filet with a mango salsa," he said before placing the plates in front of them.

"Interesting," Alexis commented, ready to dig in. "Mango!" The rest of the Midfords began to eat, giving the Nobody and Earl a moment of peace.

Roxas watched as Ciel grabbed his sharpest knife with his left hand and the middle-sized fork with his right before slicing a piece to eat. He followed, about to take a bite, when he heard Francis speak again.

"And why were you looking for my nephew, Roxas?" Francis continued the previous conversation as if the butler didn't interrupt them.

He froze. "B-Because -"

Ciel saved him once again, focusing on his food as he replied, "Because he's my brother."

* * *

><p>"Ready to go, Axel?"<p>

Axel nodded. He's been ready for a long time now. "I've been ready ever since I came back."

Saïx approved of this answer. "Do not fail in eliminating the traitors, Axel. Also, be sure to make sure that Sora isn't alerted to his other side."

Axel held back a wince, not wanting to be reminded nor look weak in front of the one second-in-command of who Sora's other half was.

Voice firm, he replied, "You can count on it."

* * *

><p>All the sounds of people eating halted save for the one who had last spoken, who continued to eat while the silence continued.<p>

After the news revelation, someone regained their senses and wits.

"Wait, _what_?" Edward exclaimed, looking at Roxas, who in turn just turned to Ciel, wide-eyed. "You look nothing alike! Your eyes, although the same hue, are of different shades!"

"He took after my mother," was the cool reply as Ciel finished his meal, dabbing his mouth with his napkin. He placed his silverware on the side of the plate, indicating to Sebastian that he was done. Roxas would have done so if he hadn't dropped his own on the floor. He was no longer hungry, if he even was hungry at all.

Regardless, Sebastian took the plates and exchanged them for a mousse au chocolat, basically a chocolate mousse as was the small taste that Roxas got from the smallest spoon, needing to eat it to prove his etiquette. He only took one bite, however, with no one else save for Ciel touching it at all.

"I see it..." Alexis said, "He has her blond hair and even her blue eyes." The discussion of Ciel's own blue eye was closed.

"A-and if what Auntie Anne told me, he also has the beauty, gentleness, and kindness Aunt Rachel had too!" Lizzy said, turning to her mother. "S-see, Mother?"

Her mother didn't buy it. She narrowed her eyes at the spiky-haired blond, who looked back down to his food. "If he's your brother, then how come we only know of him now?"

"B-because..."

"Roxas…" Ciel paused, closing his eye.

Roxas didn't know if it was because he needed to think of a story or if it's because he needed to make it seem it was a sensitive subject for him. He believed it was the latter.

"Isn't he older than you as well?" Edward added, raising an eyebrow.

Ciel cleared his throat, opening his eye to address at the Midfords. "Roxas was sickly as a child, more so than me. My mother hired a nanny to take care of him, since Aunt Anne was unavailable at the time." He placed his spoon down. "This unknown nanny kidnapped Roxas as a child, and he had returned just recently. That's as much as I'm willing to explain."

"You really do not expect us to accept such a story, do you?" Francis demanded, causing for Ciel to shrug.

"Regardless of what you think, Aunt Francis, that is the story," the Earl replied.

She rose from her place, outraged. "Madame Red would have mentioned an older brother, or if her sister had another child!"

Ciel narrowed his eye at his mousse. "Even if my mother asked for her to keep it a secret?"

The Marchioness said nothing, eventually taking back her seat. The rest of the meal was in silence before Sebastian took their barely touched dishes, save for one, away.

"Young master, the rest of the guests are arriving," the butler told the Earl when he returned, who nodded in reply.

"Right. If you would excuse Roxas, my butler, and I," he told his family-in-laws-to-be as he rose from the table, turning to Roxas to know to do the same.

However, he was still frozen, still in shock of what was just set as his back story, that of which he was to be the lost older brother of Ciel Phantomhive.

He didn't know who this Rachel Phantomhive, save for being the mother of Ciel and having a sweet personality with blonde hair and blue eyes according to Elizabeth and her father. Nothing else was noted about her in the Intel except that she died in the fire that destroyed the original mansion with her husband. Roxas winced, repressing any thoughts with fire.

Hopefully he looked enough like her that won't cause for any suspicion or speculation.

"Young master," Sebastian whispered, but Ciel just shook his head. Gently, he took hold of his 'brother's' shoulder and pulled him from his seat. Now that he was up from his chair, Roxas watched as Ciel began to leave the room, and followed. The blond saw a man he had never seen before, but looked vaguely familiar - a man with a monocle, grey hair and moustache in a tuxedo, by the doorway.

He heard Sebastian behind him and couldn't help but shiver. Luckily, the butler's stature kept that hidden from the Midfords.

"Please allow Tanaka to attend to you," Ciel told the noble family as Sebastian escorted his masters to an upper floor.

Roxas couldn't think. He couldn't concentrate on what Ciel and Sebastian were talking about besides the fact that he was now Ciel's older _brother_.

Before he knew it, they were back in his room, and Sebastian was pulling out a new outfit for him to wear, this one similar to the one that he had worn when he had first arrived at the mansion.

Scratch that, the _exact_ same one he had worn when he had first arrived. Roxas recognized the jewel pattern.

"So now you know your story," Ciel told him as Sebastian moved quickly to change the blond, having neither the time nor the privacy to tease him. He blinked. That was at least two seconds! But he couldn't think of that now.

"Be sure not to forget it," Ciel said as he waited by the door.

"Brothers?" Roxas asked before he was pulled back up from the bed and was brought back outside and into Ciel's own, this time by the means of the demonic butler. He was ignored and left to his own devices as Ciel moved in front of the mirror, standing idly as his butler approached to dress him.

"It's the only way that this would work," Ciel answered as Sebastian began to unbutton his shirt. Not wanting to watch, Roxas turned to them and to the window, where everything outside had been beautifully decorated in shades of white and black. "When did -"

Ciel interrupted, "What did I say about stupid questions?"

"R-right..." Roxas watch the many, many guests began to arrive, all dressed in elaborate clothing with elaborate means of transportation. And… were those _gifts?_

Roxas stared as they were escorted inside the mansion as by the other household members, needing a distraction.

Oh god, the last group was dressed in _red_...

"Young master," Sebastian said, "What of the Queen?"

A hushed silence were cast over the three, two of ominous intent and one of confusion.

A queen? A queen obsessed with red hearts came into mind. Hopefully this queen didn't want to cut off his head. He winced. Red.

"We'll figure something out," Ciel replied, pulling Roxas' hand and the Nobody out of his thoughts before moving out the door with Sebastian closely behind them. Roxas barely noticed, head still caught up in the whole brothers issue and the color red.

He heard Ciel reply, "She wouldn't do something so brash by coming to this event."

"Considering your relationship, I would think she would," Sebastian commented, making Ciel halt in his dragging. A wordless argument started between the two, Roxas could get that much from the air, before Sebastian shook his head and motioned for the two Phantomhives to wait in the dim hallway. The master turned away his butler, causing for Sebastian to leave them.

"She hadn't come to see me face to face since the re-instating of my earldom," Ciel muttered, moving Roxas to be alongside him. He turned to address him.

"Now, just smile, look pretty, and let me do all the talking." He waited three seconds before tightening his grip on the blond. "And Roxas," Ciel said, taking hold of the blond's chin for direct eye contact, allowing for the blond to truly see him.

The true Phantomhive heir was dressed in a similar outfit as his, except in midnight blue, almost borderline black, contrasting Roxas' white and sky blue.

Ciel stiffened and released him as the Nobody let out a harsh laugh, a laugh that brought shivers down Ciel's spine the first time he heard it - the time when Roxas was speaking with that man of fire.

"Brothers," the blond interrupted, his face turning up into a twisted smile. "I don't even know what that is."

Ciel said nothing as he turned away, pulling the blond with him before Roxas was able to pull his own weight and walked along side him and to the guests.

"Ladies and gentlemen, it is my great honor and pleasure to introduce Earls Roxas and Ciel of Phantomhive," Roxas heard a distant voice that sounded like Sebastian introduce them as the pair was moved from the darkness and into the bright party room and the applause of people he didn't know, nor did he feel he needed to know unless they were harmful to his master.

He had a feeling that they would be though, still attracted to the rose's scent, but for different reasons compared to the Organization.

He narrowed his eyes at the patrons of the party, the various people dressed in the fabulous dresses and suits, toasting and drinking wine as well as dancing to the music.

"We're going to have to dance later," he heard Ciel mutter to him as he caught sight of the orchestra band. He caught special sight of a silver flute, glinting in the light.

Suddenly, the room started spinning. Roxas stopped walking as everything turned blurry and he started losing his focus, everything swirling into a mesh of colors of gold and red.

Ciel felt a tug backwards and turned to see the honorary Phantomhive clutch his head. He was surprised when Roxas let out a moan.

"I..." Roxas cried out, before he closed his eyes and fell to the ground.

* * *

><p>"To find is to lose and to lose is to find, I hope that you will find everything well in Castle Oblivion."<p>

* * *

><p>AN: Time flows differently in between worlds.

Yeah, if you hadn't noticed, we've gone a _little _AR. Bring on the coma! Also, the Midford family might be a little OOC, just because I don't feel like rereading the Ship Voyage Arc to see how they acted exactly towards Ciel. I have a vague memory, but I don't want to pick through it just for the Midfords.

Do not feel like beta-ing… Meh.

Sorry that this chapter's actually pretty long. Usually, the chapters should be around 5,000 words and this one's over 9,000. Gah, I feel like my writing style has changed and this chapter is horrible compared to the others. So so sorry about that. Considering the fact that the beginning, of the cemetery scenes, was actually the very, very first draft for this fic… yeah.

I'm thinking of stopping this for a bit, just cause Kingdom Hearts is so emotional right now considering the fact that 3D is out in Japan and who knows when it'll come out in the States and I'm a little brat like that. I swear, if they don't have the 10th Anniversary extras, or the 3DS bundle… Gah, need to get a 3DS, so I need that bundle!

Hmm, about this fic… not sure. Maybe I'll end up working on it over Spring Break. Still, not too sure about my thoughts right now. Sorry about that.

Then again, seeing the newest chapters of Kuroshitsuji fires me up, so perhaps. Like, for example, that Ciel's currently in school in March 2012 - Chapter 67.

Goddamn it where is Pandora Hearts? WHERE?… Excuse me.

Roxas is in a coma anyway, so perhaps the next chapter should be Ciel-centric. What do you think? You readers never leave reviews, save for a few, and I thank you so much for the ones who do! But for the others, I don't know what you want! Please tell me! 'Cause I don't even know where I'm going with this anymore.

Long A/N's note is long and I know you don't care, but…

Happy Tenth Anniversary, Kingdom Hearts! You have forever impacted and changed my life for the better. Thank you.

Oh, and thank _you _readers for _La Rose Bleue Diabolque_! See you all next month for this fic!

Maybe.

If you would excuse me, I'm going to cry in a corner until 3D is announced and released in America.


	7. Chain of Memories

QVR: The whole beautillion ball was going swimmingly, in a sense I guess, until Roxas fell passed out to the floor.

A/N: Beware the possible OOC-ness! I warned you! Also, I took some liberties for canon stuff because I'm not re-watching everything to get all the quotes properly. Did flip over the manga though.

* * *

><p>It was just in their nature for humans to let their emotions get the better of them. Hence the term 'human nature'. Sebastian, even if a demon, knew as much. After all, it was their elusive human nature that made humans so interesting.<p>

Then again, there was that curious case of now Roxas Phantomhive…

But leaving that interesting exception aside for now, Ciel Phantomhive, no matter how heartless he appeared to be, was still human. And as a human, he had emotions as everyone else. He just… had a better control of them than others.

However, it was still a surprise to the demon to see how much emotion his lord actually put into this strange blond, immediately dismissing the party without allowing any protest, even resorting to having Mei-Rin, Finnian, and Bard to escort guests out with force if necessary - and for Elizabeth it was - and ordered for Sebastian to take Roxas to bed. Even Sebastian had to admit, both were slightly disturbed at his deep sleeping.

At least, what appears to be deep sleeping. His breathing was steady, with even breaths and the rising of the blond's chest indicated as much.

Sebastian must also admit that he is rather interested with the Nobody in his hands, interested in a sense of him being a rare specimen that has never been seen before, disregarding the… Samurai, faceless silver ballerinas and giant shadow ants that have suddenly appeared in London. This whole… being without a heart, Sebastian was very interested in him as well. Not as a threat no, for now they were to work together to protect his - their - master. Seeing the blond in this condition wasn't very comforting, both to him and his master.

"My lord, why would you dismiss the ball? Suspicions will arise and what if, in the very unlikely situation, they are the cause of Roxas' situation?" Sebastian asked Ciel as he carried the blond down the hall.

Ciel answered, "Roxas is on par with you in terms of supernatural, perhaps even more in a sense. I highly doubt those people, no matter how ghastly most of them are, are capable of being able to take you out, let alone Roxas."

Sebastian sometimes had to humor that strange thing called curiosity. After all, one needs to know everything in order to act accordingly to the situation.

"So what would you believe?" the butler asked, wondering what assumptions his master had made about the blond in his arms.

"Was it the potion we gave him? Mei-Rin said that he did take it, and she would have no reason to lie. Clumsy enough as she is, you know as well as I do that appearances are deceiving."

"You know, young master, if you were to give her a new prescription, maybe she wouldn't - "

Ciel cut him off. "We are not having this discussion now. Right now the important issue is of Roxas. If you do not know what is going on, I suppose it's not a side effect of what you brewed?"

Sebastian shook his head, looking down at the one in his arms. "The potion was just to befuddle his dreams, as you requested, but perhaps it could have been an unexpected side effect. After all, he's certainly an oddity."

The rest of the conversation consisted of silence.

* * *

><p>Finally, the two arrived back in Roxas' bedroom, where they were in just a few short hours ago. Time seemed to be flowing much more slowly than what they both were used to, usually dragging at its leisure. Now everything was changing in a matter of moments.<p>

It was starting to irritate Ciel, who although was used to adapting situations, he hasn't been able to actually think anything through since bringing Roxas to meet the Undertaker.

Did he make the right decision by naming Roxas his brother? He had enough similarities with his mother for it to pass, he thought, but now there was probably going to be some investigations on him or another.

He shook his head. Not a problem, forged papers can and shall be forged.

Still, people might be suspicious…

Ciel thought back to the party, they had barely taken more than three steps until Roxas dropped to the ground. What even was that? What happened? It couldn't have been the potion, could it? No, Sebastian said that it wasn't, and the demon wouldn't intentionally harm the blond, interested in him himself.

This person, this person sent to him with the intention to kill him, was strange. He was able to think for himself, deciding to join Ciel, but he could also wield a sword quite effectively, even having the ability to perform magic.

That weapon, the… keyblade, it was called, could anyone use it? Those monsters as well, they were formed by the citizens of London? So did that mean that…

He sighed; this was going to be a complicated mission from the Queen.

"Young master, do not be alarmed at what I am about to do," Sebastian warned as he tossed Roxas into the air, much to Ciel's surprise.

Roxas fell unceremoniously onto the soft cushions of the canopy bed, thankfully not hitting anything upon his descent.

Ciel jolted before turning to his butler, demanding an explanation. "The fuck, Sebastian?"

Sebastian didn't meet his gaze and watched Roxas continue to sleep. "He's deeply asleep."

Ciel rolled his eyes. "No shit." He dashed over to the blond, feeling his head. "God, what if you hit something; what if he hit something?" He turned back to his butler to give him a glare. "Don't you _ever_ do that again!"

The raven-clad butler bowed, hiding his expression from the earl. "Yes, my lord."

Ciel didn't even acknowledge him as he turned back to his 'brother', watching him sleep. "I-I guess we'll have to wait for him to wake up. Do you suppose we should call a doctor?"

Sebastian gave Ciel a curious look before he shook his head. "I would advise against it, my lord. Remember how quickly he healed?" He was to say more, provide more suggestions, but when noticing that he was being ignored, decided to save his breath.

Ciel thought of the other night, and how quickly the burns receded from the blond's body given to him by the man of fire, Axel Roxas called him.

_"What do you think you're _doing_?"_

_"Axel, _please_ -"_

The earl took a breath; he needed to stead his nerves. He turned and moved to leave the room. "I suppose we'll just have to wait this out."

* * *

><p>"Sora, what's wrong?"<p>

Sora shivered, feeling eyes on him, as if he and his companions were being watched at that very moment. "That Axel guy… I think he's got it in for me."

Donald tilted his head to his teammate. "Axel? That crazy redhead?"

"What makes you say that?" Goofy asked, confused.

Sora shrugged. He didn't know how to explain it, Donald and Goofy couldn't understand, or maybe they just didn't feel the frustration that Axel would have during their confrontations. "I don't know, he just seems…" He struggled to find words that would make sense to his friends. "Mad at something. And he's taking out on me."

It wasn't Sora's fault - it _couldn't _be his fault. This was the first time he'd ever met the mysterious man. As to why he's using Sora as stress relief was beyond him. This whole castle was just strange and that was that. But it was too late to turn back; they've already sacrificed so much. Now it was a matter of whether it was actually _worth _it….

Goofy pat him on the back, making him come out of his rather gloomy thoughts. "Aww, Sora, I'm sure it's just all in your head."

Sora's gaze was distant. "Maybe…" Perhaps it was best not to think of it for now. He shook his head to clear his thoughts. "What's the next card?"

"You tell me," Donald said. "You're leading the way."

"Oh, right." Bashful, Sora took a look at it before giving it an odd look. "Twilight Town… Strange, I don't remember ever going there before."

* * *

><p>Sebastian studied his master carefully as he set aside for him his cup of tea, not requested but the butler believed he needed it. "Young master, you should rest, it's quite late," he said, placing the Devil's Food Cake with a fork on the side by the teacup.<p>

Ciel waved him away. "Not now, I still have some work to do." He pushed the sweet away, causing for his butler to raise an eyebrow to him.

There could be only one reason for the sweet-obsessed lord to ignore his treat. "About Roxas?"

Ciel was exasperated. "It's been a month, Sebastian. I think that it's been too long. Even if he's breathing, how do we know he's not brain dead? I think it's time. As much as I hate to admit it, we need a doctor."

Sebastian was surprised it took Ciel this long for him to finally ask for help. "Who would you recommend?"

Ciel sighed as he continued to read through his papers. "That's the thing, I don't know who we can trust..."

"Young master -"

"I don't want to trust his body to just anyone. Even if Madame Red, Aunt Anne, was still alive, I couldn't. She would see through my lies because she would have known if her sister had another child. That's one of the main reasons as to why this ploy would work. Besides, who's to say that he has the same anatomy as a human being? He claims to have no heart for god's sake!" He tossed his papers in the air; Sebastian realized it was a list of doctors. He widened his eyes at the sight as Ciel continued, "But is it like a physical heart or is it the spiritual one? It just makes no sense! How is he alive?"

Indeed, how was the blond alive? The butler smirked. "That's what I would like to know."

Ciel looked up to him. "Sebastian -"

"Let me examine him, young master. I have been reading up on medical encyclopedias and I'm sure that I would not say anything."

Ciel gave it a moment of thought before he bit his lip. "I suppose that there's no other option then. First thing tomorrow."

* * *

><p>As she sat there blankly in her room, sometimes Xion wonders what exactly her purpose in the Organization is. Could it really be to be the key-wielder of the Organization if Roxas failed? Sure she could wield the keyblade, but considering her genetic make-up if was the whole reason was why she was there in the first place as far as she was told was starting to concern her.<p>

Especially when she was starting to destabilize, when she was starting to become a failure.

And she couldn't have that.

She struggled with basic tasks and missions. Before she used to be able to take out at least the required amount of Heartless but now it was a struggle to obtain any hearts at all. It was starting to become a strain on her body to actually summon the keyblade and soon she was sure she wouldn't be able to summon it at all.

The person who was supposed to make her stable, the true half of the key-wielder was gone. Roxas.

Axel claimed he was sure of that.

But Xion didn't think so. Something tugged at the ends of her non-heart that told her that Roxas was fine, if not slightly weak from the events going on in the Secret Mission at Castle Oblivion. She would know, she was starting to feel weak as well. Perhaps that was the reason for the weakening of her power. She surely hoped so.

No, that same something told her that was not the case - that it was bound to happen, regardless of the Secret Mission. She was starting to fade.

She coughed weakly, spotting blood on her glove. But that just made her even more determined as she got up from her spot and headed towards the door, decision made.

She needed to find Roxas and bring him back.

* * *

><p>It was almost midnight, but at least she was almost done with her duties. Lastly on her list was tending to Lord Roxas.<p>

Mei-Rin was surprised when Ciel personally asked her privately to tend to the blond, confused as to why Sebastian wasn't asked to do so, but she wasn't about to question any orders. Especially if given to her by the Phantomhive Earl himself.

So she took great, _great_ care in doing this task, on par as if she was defending the manor with her skill of firearms. Ciel had requested that she tend to this task as if she was tending to him on his deathbed, and even told her to remove her glasses if necessary, giving her new ones to use. She was not to screw this up. Ciel trusted her.

The maid, now no longer sight-impaired for these tasks, would always come to tend to the blond three times every day, from dawn, to half-past noon, and lastly at midnight. She tended to the blond's needs such as basic tasks, such as tending to his room, feeding him soup that she always found in a special corner of the kitchen, and even bathing him every other day.

It was to be done in secret, and Mei-Rin prided herself on her ability to perform her tasks for important matters such as this.

Finally, she fluffed Roxas' pillows and found herself captivated by his hair once more, amazed how it could still stay spiky like that as she did every night.

"Mei-Rin, how is he?"

The maid jumped at the voice. She turned to find her lord dressed in his sleeping garments. He was unaccompanied by his butler and closed the door, leaving the two, three including the unconscious blond in the bed, inside. "Ha hie! Yo-young master, what are you doing out of bed so late at night?" He had never come to check up on her before. Had she done something wrong?

"Mei-Rin," Ciel said, "Please, tell me."

She curtsied. "I apologize, young master. Lord Roxas is perfectly fine." Uh… "Sa-save for being awake and everything," she quickly added.

Ciel approached the maid and the bed which contained his 'brother'. "I see." He placed his hand over the blond's forehead, feeling his temperature. He watched Roxas breathe before retracting it hand. "It's strange," he confessed quietly, "I've never seen anyone so sick besides me before."

Mei-Rin was still nervous. "Yo-young master, you've been quite healthy lately -"

"Tell me, Mei-Rin, what do you think is the reason for this?" he asked her, honestly wanting her opinion. "Why do you think that Roxas has been sleeping for so long?" It just frustrated him so much and he didn't know why.

W-why? Mei-Rin thought about it. The time that Roxas had spent here, conscious, has been short, but quite eventful. "I think it was the shock, young master," she replied after thinking it over. "Everything has been so sudden lately, having meeting you and everything."

Ciel was surprised at her answer. "M-me?"

"He's not like you, young master, even if he is your older brother," Mei-Rin replied as she watched Roxas sleep.

Ciel nervously smiled. "O-oh, right." 'Older brother' indeed.

She smiled back. "Thank you for allowing for me to tend to him during this time, young master. It was a pleasant experience that will not last much longer."

Ciel turned to her. "'Not last much longer'? What makes you say that?" How did she know? Ciel was pretty sure she wasn't a doctor. Sebastian was to tend to the blond in the morning, and no matter how much Ciel was reluctant to do so, he was left with no other option. But what made her say this?

She winked. "Woman's intuition, young master!" She curtsied once more.

Ciel gave her a small smile. "Very well. Please go ahead and retire for the night; don't let me keep you."

"Bu-but, young master -"

"Good night, Mei-Rin, and thank you for speaking with me." He smiled genuinely at her.

The maid curtsied once more. "Good night, young master." She turned and left without another word.

Ciel watched her leave and the door quietly closed shut before he turned back to the blond, studying his features.

He looked so fragile, and yet Ciel knew it was a façade. After all, Roxas was able to wield a sword effectively and summon it out of nothingness, perform magical spells, has underlings _created _from nothingness under his power. Roxas was a powerful being that Ciel will keep under his thumb. At least for him there was no motions of an equal exchange - he had everything to gain and nothing to lose from their contract together, one of business. Roxas truly didn't know how much more Ciel had taken from him.

The Nobody's skin was so pale it was like porcelain, much like his own, and was also soft to touch. That was the only similarity they had appearance-wise.

Although they had the same eye color of blue, Ciel's was much more darker, like looking at the sky at night while Roxas' was more brighter, shining more like sky at the day. While Ciel's hair was midnight blue, his was honey blond. Where Ciel's hair fell into place, his flew everywhere like pure chaos that still suited the blond fine. There was also the age difference of about two or three years, but that wasn't solid as Roxas himself said that he wasn't so sure of his own age. The height would move with age, even if Ciel was particularly short for his own age of thirteen.

It was only fitting that something so strange would be so beautiful.

Ciel shook his head at his thoughts, was _that _what some people thought of him? How sickening! He wasn't weak and didn't want people to think so.

He'll trust Mei-Rin and give the blond more time. He didn't want Sebastian to do anything just yet.

* * *

><p>"Young master, do you not trust me?"<p>

Ciel looked up from his cup of tea. "What makes you say that, Sebastian?"

"You told me to wait an additional week when just yesterday you were scrambling to find a doctor," Sebastian said, refilling the tea. "And you are so calm contrasting your distraught attitude yesterday."

Ciel shrugged as he took another sip of his beverage of tea leaves. "I do trust you, yes, but concerning Roxas, no."

Sebastian raised an eyebrow. How… interesting a comparison. Like the Undertaker he said. "And why not?"

Ciel eyed the tea as he answered, "You leer at him like the Undertaker did, and I don't like it. You're going to do something penetrating to your own interests and disregard my own. I haven't forgotten that you are a selfish creature who in the end only looks out for yourself. After all, you don't care about me. All you care about is my soul, heart or whatever the terminology is at this point." He shrugged.

Sebastian watched his master place down his cup and reach out for an orange cookie from the plate of assorted pastries. "Is that what you truly believe?"

Ciel smirked at him as he took a bite. "Yes."

"Well then, young master," Sebastian said as he bowed, "I'm happy to see that you know exactly what kind of situation you are in."

Ciel finished off his cookie. "As if I could forget."

* * *

><p>Sora pointed at the white petal egg pod in front of him, Donald and Goofy already inside their own, smaller pods. "We have to sleep in these?"<p>

Naminé nodded. "It might take a little time, but you'll get your memory back. All of it."

The brunet nodded, and got ready to go inside.

She couldn't leave it just like that. "Sora…" she murmured, hoping that he would hear her.

He did indeed hear her, and turned to the blonde. She smiled before continuing, "I… I'm glad I met you."

Sora laughed. "You make it sound like it's goodbye."

Naminé just smiled, not responding to his comment.

Sora's laughter died down, realizing that she was serious. "I'll… see you again, right?"

Naminé continued to smile as she closed her eyes, hands folded and over to where her heart would be. "You know, Sora, I was happy." She opened and looked deep into the brunet's eyes of a similar cerulean blue shade as her own, hers reflecting the ocean as his reflected the sky. "I was happy that you treated me as a person, and even more so when you still accepted me after everything that I put you through."

"But that wasn't your fault!" Sora argued, "You had no choice!"

The blonde's smile turned sorrowful. "I did have a choice. I decided to help them, the Organization, thinking that it was the only option I had. It was also my choice to no longer do so, thanks to the help of Axel."

At that name, Sora froze. "Axel… he hated me."

Naminé continued to give him a wry smile. "No he didn't, Sora, no one can hate you. As for his animosity, he had his reasons; please don't blame him."

Sora shook his head. "As if I could do that after all he'd done for us!" He looked away, gaze distant. "I just wish I could have helped him, you know?"

Naminé smiled softly. "I'm sure you would have if you had the option." She gestured to the pod. "You better get going, Sora."

"But, Naminé, I don't want to forget you," Sora said, taking hold of her hand. "I'm… I'm going to miss you."

"Don't… don't say it like that, Sora," Naminé cried, holding onto his hand tightly as he got inside the pod. "I'm going to miss you too."

Sora shifted his hand so that their pinkies were linked. "Don't cry, Naminé. We'll meet each other again, and we'll make new, real memories with one another, ones that won't fade away. Ones that you don't have to create. I won't forget you, Naminé, I promise."

Naminé smiled as she released her pinky, wiping away her tears. The pod door closed, sealing the brunet into sleep to undo the false chain of memories she had created. She pressed her hand to the pod, continuing her smile as her tears still fell. "I'll keep you to it, Sora. I'll keep you to it."

* * *

><p>This would be the last day. If Roxas didn't wake up today, he was going to let Sebastian examine him, not having a choice in the matter. Ciel just hoped that Mei-Rin was right.<p>

She was so much more effective by changing her glasses, maybe he should get Finny a new hat if he wanted one. He'll ask. Bard gets nothing - god knows who supplies him his firearms.

"Young master, it's been forty days."

Ciel looked up from his paper work. "I know."

"Don't you think that now would be the time to examine Roxas?" his butler asked. "I know that Mei-Rin has been doing so for the past month and ten days. Are you really that reluctant to let me near him?"

"Just while he's unconscious." Ciel couldn't keep this up forever. "At least when he's awake he's amusing when he interacts with you, but I don't want any funny business between you two when he can't defend himself."

The demon sounded amused. "Is that an order?"

Ciel narrowed his single eye at him. "… I'll place my trust on you for this task. Make sure that I don't regret it."

Sebastian bowed. "Thank you for placing your faith in me, my lord. It is greatly appreciated."

"Mm." Ciel watched the time tick down on his grandfather clock. _There are about twelve hours left, Roxas. You better not disappoint me._

* * *

><p>The first thing that came into Roxas' mind when he woke up was that he was really, really thirsty.<p>

He reached out blindly for a glass of water and accidentally tipped it over, causing for the liquid to leak into his bed. He blinked. "Oh…" Quickly, he moved to wipe it away, but just managed to get himself soaked in the process. It was dark, where were the lights?

Suddenly the lights were on and Mei-Rin walked inside, carrying a change of clothes. She hummed to herself, unaware that the person she had been caring for is finally awake.

Roxas coughed, "Um, Mei-Rin, could I have a glass of water?"

The maid jumped, turning slowly to Roxas to find him drenched in water, with his hair still defying gravity even while wet. She dropped her load of laundry and ran out the hall. Roxas could hear her exclaiming, "Yo-young master, young master! He's awake!"

Roxas winced. It was just like the last time.

He opened his eyes to the door and watched Ciel calmly walk into his room, not saying a word to him or anyone else as Sebastian escorted the maid out of the blond's chamber.

The Nobody didn't know what to expect from the little lord, but he surely didn't expect the hard _slap_ that Ciel smacked across his face. It didn't hurt that much, he was used to pain much harsher than this, but it still hurt all the same. He raised a hand to his red cheek, dazed as Ciel moved back.

He hissed, "You _ever _go into a coma again lasting more than a week, our agreement is off." And with that, Ciel walked away.

Roxas blinked, still rubbing his sore face. "Uh… How long was I out?"

Sebastian watched him go before turning to the blond, taking out his silver pocket watch. "Forty days, eleven hours, nine minutes, and twenty-seven seconds, Lord Roxas." He shut his watch. "You shall be given a rest period of a day, but starting tomorrow, we're getting to work." He handed him a glass of water.

"R-right," Roxas replied, taking it gratefully and took a sip. He did a spit take. "_Forty days?_"

"With eleven hours, nine minutes, and twenty-seven seconds." Sebastian nodded before he bowed and rose to the blond, smiling as he did the first time Roxas walked into the Phantomhive grounds that long time ago. "Welcome, officially, to the Phantomhive Manor, Lord Roxas Phantomhive. If you would excuse me, I must attend to the young master." And with that, the butler left to attend to his master.

Roxas just placed back down his glass of water by his bedside table, confused all the same. He nodded as he fell back into bed, ignoring the wetness all around him.

He supposed now he was, officially, a member of the Phantomhive family.

* * *

><p>AN: My endings are always meh now! Why?

Heya! xD Month off of hiatus for this story has passed… Hope that this update was okay and worth the wait. Gahh I don't know if I like it but I don't know what else to do with this. Oh god, that interaction between Sora and Naminé, so… Ehhhh… I don't like her, so I hope I wrote her well. I was just rewriting the CoM scenes. Of course with added info for the story's sake.

Question! Does anyone read the titles? They're not in the fic, but... Just curious is all.

If you haven't noticed, I haven't been writing for this fandom lately, opting for DC/MK and KHR. Umm, for this though… What can I say, I felt like working on this. But… ehh… I feel like writing Ciel was like I was writing a fancy Hibari xD Barely wrote Roxas, but when I write for Tsuna I think of Roxas so… xD And DC people are out of the question. I don't think I can promise that monthly update anymore. Let's see what happens.

I have to admit though, writing for this fic puts me in… a fancy type of mood, I guess. I dunno, writing for this is different when I write for my other fics. This sounds so more sophisticated or something. I blame the Kuroshitsuji aspect of it.

'Till the next update I suppose. Reviews are lovely, and if you have any suggestions of how you would like for this to go, please let me know! Running low on inspiration not only for these series but in this fandom in general. Depressing.

Thanks for reading! :D


	8. Lessons, Lessons, and More Lessons

QVR: Roxas is now an official member of the Phantomhive family. Yay~

A/N: Holy shit, 3D is finally out! Officially! The +$10 for MoME was totally worth it. And the $170 I shelled out for a 3DS just for this game. Yeah, I'm that obsessed. I bought a PSP just for BBS. But hey, P3P was awesome too.

Also, I decided that I'll continue posting here until I get deleted/get reported, at which time I'll be sure to inform you all where I'd go since I'm not to drop anything.

Please remember that for me writing is _very_ hard in the summer.

* * *

><p><em>Chapter Eight: Lessons, Lessons, and More Lessons<br>_

* * *

><p>"Recite that line one more time."<p>

Roxas cleared his throat, eyes wandering to the shelves of endless hardcover books of various shades and titles as he tried to remember the words his tutor wanted for him to say perfectly at his second attempt at speaking a brand new language. "Les personnages sont très...um..."

Sebastian opened his eyes, staring at the blond intently. "Oui?"

"Très...noirs?" He ran his fingers through his spiky blond locks, staring down at the book. "I have no idea what I'm saying." How else could he describe the image of the figures in the darkness as by the artist, a rendition of...what looked familiar, but Roxas wasn't sure. Japanese seemed to work just fine for the people in England. For some reason.

The butler sighed. "Lord Roxas, the young master has specifically told you that you must at least be fluent in French if not English."

Lies! Sebastian was just testing him again, wasn't he? Like always. "But I speak English just fine -"

Sebastian slammed his pointer on the desk Roxas was slouching into, making him sit right up at attention. The butler picked up the picture, studying it before folding it to place in his pocket. "You need to know French. It is required and is part of the curriculum. Then there is Latin."

"But _why_ - "

"However, seeing your posture right now makes me believe that we should take a break from languages and move into etiquette." Roxas widened his eyes in horror as Sebastian nodded to himself, turning to the chest of tutoring tools and the blond really did not want to see the assault rifle needed for this lesson.

A chime from the grandfather clock indicated that the morning lessons were over. Sebastian closed the chest, making the Nobody sigh in relief. The butler did not miss it. "Hmm. Well then, saved by the bell you believe? It is of little importance. We shall continue the etiquette at lunch. Now, if you would excuse me, I must make sure that lunch will be served." And in a flash, the demonic butler was gone.

Roxas was still relieved, etiquette practice at lunch meant that the rest of the staff would be there and Ciel would be able to view the cruel and unusual punishment that Roxas would have to endure as lessons.

Because certain lessons were more like training than actual lessons.

But hey, at least now he knows that there are _way_ too many bears loose in the Phantomhive estate. _Way_too many. What in the hell were the architects thinking? Or was it just the forest nearby?

"Ah, Roxas, there you are."

The blond turned to the calling of his name across the room to find his master at the door, leaning on the side before making his entrance into the Phantomhive library and to the blond, who was putting away his study resource materials.

"I was hoping to talk to you before we get to the dining hall." Ciel narrowed his eyes and flashed Roxas a minuscule smirk as he kicked the only student desk in the room that the blond was still currently seated in. Roxas jerked out of the chair, hitting the carpet not as gracefully as he would have liked and Ciel smirked wider at the scene.

"Hm, you may need to work on your grace." The earl shrugged, turning away and examining the chest of Sebastian's study aids. "I'll get Sebastian right on that." He flipped through the locks, trying to get a peek inside.

"Er, Ciel, je préfèr nous allons -"

The Phantomhive Earl was clearly not listening, peering down into the chest and poking at various things with the pointer. He would have retorted by now.

Roxas couldn't help but shiver, wondering if Ciel was still mad at him.

It has been about ten days since Roxas had woken up from that little coma of his, and Ciel avoided him for about a week. Mei-Rin said it was because the young master was so stressed, but Roxas was worried. What if Ciel hated him now? He didn't want that.

For the past three days, Ciel would stop by the library and tell Roxas to walk with him to the dining hall after his morning lessons, but very few words were exchanged between them - if any at all.

Perhaps today would be a different arrangement?

"Hmm." Ciel was still admiring the chest of training tools that Sebastian used. He pulled out a bundle of bananas, studying it before just placing it back down in the chest.

Roxas didn't know what to do; he could only hope that Ciel had forgiven him.

Roxas was too busy speculating, too busy wondering, he didn't notice when Ciel began his walk back to the door. When Roxas snapped back to attention, Ciel was already outside and in the hall, clearing his throat. Roxas quickly scampered after him and they began their short walk to the dining hall in silence, as the blond feared.

The sounds of their footsteps were slightly muted by the carpet they were walking upon, Roxas contemplating on how to start a conversation but not knowing how to do so.

Soon enough they ended up in front of the door with no word spoken in between, and Roxas remembered something. "Oh! Didn't you say you wanted to ask me something?" he asked. A few moments passed and Roxas thought that Ciel didn't hear him. He was about to repeat his question when Ciel turned to the blond, who subtly backed down under the power of the Earl's gaze.

"It's simple enough, but I'm rather famished so let's dine first. I'm interested in how Sebastian plans to teach you etiquette during lunch."

Roxas was to retort, but the doors soon opened and the Phantomhive butler escorted them inside for their luncheon.

* * *

><p>The meal started off silent, no one saying a word with just the three oddities of nature by their stations, two eating and one on standby.<p>

The appetizer course continued with the silence, but it was a very short course as salad wasn't very interesting. Ciel pushed it aside after a few bites and Roxas copied him, so Sebastian quickly served the next course since if Ciel wasn't budging, neither is Roxas.

"Lord Roxas, would you like to demonstrate what you have learned to the young master?" Sebastian whispered as he served the main course.

"Uhh..." Try not to blow it now! Roxas took a deep breath and closed his eyes. Ciel paid him no mind as Roxas opened them and reached for a fork to eat his piece of meat with.

"Wrong fork," Ciel corrected without even looking up. Roxas slowly lowered his hand and placed it down before he reached for another piece of silverware.

"Spoons are not necessary for this dish." Ciel called as he cut into his cut of beef, stabbing into it to place in his mouth.

"B-But the sauce -"

"Sebastian, I'm disappointed." Ciel sucked on the tips of his fork with his hand on his cheek and elbow on the table. He peered at the demon at the corners of the room. "It's been more than a week; I expected more than..." He made a small shrug towards the blond that was currently poking at his steak with the spoon Ciel had told him not to use. The Earl rolled his visible eye. "This."

Roxas could hear him, but he really had nothing to respond to that, and Ciel was speaking to Sebastian. He shrank into his seat, still stabbing with the spoon, albeit more slowly.

"I think we're done here." Ciel stood up, pushing the chair and stepping out. "Send me my dessert with tea in my study; I have work to do." The little lord started to leave, Sebastian following closely.

"Uh, Ciel?" Roxas asked quietly. Sebastian already had his hand on the door handle, and pushed it open slightly, but Ciel turned back to the blond.

"What is it?"

"Uhh..." It's over, he screwed everything up. "What was it that you wanted to tell me?"

"I'm surprised you remembered." Ciel turned completely to face the blond. "I'm...disappointed."

Roxas blinked. Yes, he just said he was. "In Sebastian?"

"...Yes. In Sebastian." Sebastian rolled his eyes but pulled the door for his master. Ciel stepped out shortly after, giving the blond one second glance. "Do not try to summon me; I will fetch you if I need you. Remember that." He walked away without giving Roxas a chance to reply.

Sebastian still lingered however. "We shall work on this, Lord Roxas. The rest of the lessons for today have been cancelled; feel free to choose to spend your time however you'd wish to spend it." Soon after he left as well, leaving Roxas alone in the dining hall.

Roxas sighed and deflated in his seat after a few moments of silence. He swirled the peas and carrots that remained on his plate with the same wrong spoon, sighing as he placed his head to hand and leaned into the table.

He groaned, pushing the plate and resting his head on the table, scratching his hair. "I don't know what I'm doing wrong."

While now he knew that his inquires have not been withheld from the Earl, it would seem that it was just annoying him. And now Roxas was most likely to be ignored; perhaps Ciel won't even walk with him to lunch anymore.

His ears picked up something coming from the outside, making his head shot up and he looked at the door. "Mei-Rin, do you need any help?"

At that moment, Mei-Rin stepped inside the dining hall, balancing a stack of plates with two hands, wobbling slightly. When it looked like she was about to fall, Roxas quickly got up from his seat and was next to her in a flash, helping her balance the porcelain.

"A-ah, Lord Roxas!" Mei-Rin dropped the plates, but Roxas quickly managed to save a majority of them with only a few casualties. The two winced at the sound of the shattered ceramic plates on the floor, staring at them for a few moments before Mei-Rin bend down to pick up the pieces. Roxas placed the plates he managed to save gently in the cabinet they were to be placed in before bending down to help her.

Mei-Rin wouldn't have it. "Lord Roxas, please - "

"Nonsense, Mei-Rin," he replied as he picked up the pieces along with the maid. "It's the least I can do."

"But your hands - "

Roxas made a grab for her own palm. "You should be more concerned with your own hands." He removed the handkerchief in his pocket and wrapped it around the various cuts that Mei-Rin had received from the sharp material.

"But, my lord - "

"Please, call me Roxas, just Roxas, Mei-Rin," the blond requested as he picked up the last of the porcelain and placed them aside. "I…really am not comfortable with the titles and formalities. You were the one who treated me when I was sick, weren't you?"

"Y-yes, but - "

"I must insist on this, Mei-Rin," the blond confirmed, softly squeezing her hand before releasing it. He turned from her as she put away the shattered remains of what used to be tableware. "I…I really don't like being called a lord. I'm…just not used to it."

Wrong. He's been called many titles before, Lord being just one of them. Highness, Majesty, Liege, Superior, the Key, Number Thirteen.

It was a reminder of the past that he desperately wanted to leave behind him.

"Um…Pardon for the intrusion, erm, Roxas, but you seem a little down." Mei-Rin placed her hand on the blond's shoulder, back from disposing of the dangerous, sharp pieces of porcelain. She smiled softly at him as he turned to face her. "I may not be able to do much, but please allow me to help you to the best of my ability."

Roxas wasn't usually in the company of women - Larxene scared him and he didn't have the chance to speak to Xion - but the kindness of Mei-Rin spoke to him in a way that touched his non-heart. Sure she was a little clumsy, but her heart was in the right place. And she was calmer and less annoying than Elizabeth at least what he could tell from the short time they spent together.

Sebastian went over very slightly the basics of the family unit - it was still a very confusing subject that just didn't click in the Nobody's mind - but Mei-Rin was almost what Roxas imagined for what a mother should be. So…whose side of the Phantomhive family he was supposed to belong to.

He bit his lip, but he really didn't know what else to do at this point. "Mei-Rin," the blond whispered softly, "Can you give me some advice?"

She blinked before smiling widely. "Of course, my lord! Err – " She stumbled. " Roxas! Just Roxas. So sorry." She bowed her head for forgiveness. "We are to serve you as if you were the young master! What would you need assistance with?" She was dazzling, but at least there weren't any sparkles.

Roxas assumed that by 'we', she meant the rest of the Phantomhive staff save the one Sebastian Michaelis. "Well..." Roxas blushed as he turned his head. He looked up and scratched it, not wanting to meet her eyes. "It's about Ciel. I dunno; it's like he hates me or something."

"The young master?" The maid placed her hand to her chin, looking off at an odd distance as she retracted into her thoughts. "He does come off as cold, and we have all seen the past ten days..."

Roxas sighed. "I just don't know what to do."

The two sat there in silence, Roxas wallowing in self-pity and Mei-Rin deep in thought.

Finally, Mei-Rin broke the silence. She placed her formed fist to her other open wrapped palm, smiling widely. "I know what you can do!"

Roxas looked up to her like a confused puppy. Mei-Rin explained, "You should do something that will make him happy!"

He blinked once more. "Something...that will make him happy?"

Mei-Rin nodded madly. "Yep, yep!"

Something that would make him happy, something to make up for the terrible mistake that he did from falling into that strange coma of his.

Something that would allow for Ciel to forgive him.

He grinned. The blond stood up, surprising the maid with his speed as he brought her up with him. "Mei-Rin, you're a genius!" Roxas hugged her tightly. "What should I do?"

The maid was blushing furiously. "I'm happy to have been of service to you, Roxas. Anything to help!"

"I know!" He immediately released her. "Can I help you with your maid work?"

She was still dazed. "I'm…I'm sorry?"

"Please! Let me help you!" He made a dash to the door, where he rightly assumed where she left her cleaning supplies. He grabbed a ragged cloth and bucket of water, rolling up his sleeves to his elbows so that they wouldn't get dirty, and dashed down the hall, where the grand staircase from the entrance of the house needed some scrubbing.

"Lord Roxas, please wait!" But Roxas wouldn't wait, now that he was finally given a purpose. He wasn't completely stupid; he knew that the lessons from Sebastian were more of an assessment and training exercise about his new life - concerning the languages, the etiquette, the basics that everyone knew such as family, maybe even getting lost in the backyard and encountering all those bears. It had taken all of his will power to follow Sebastian's orders to not use his mystical abilities. It was the longest he's ever been without fighting something.

It made him slightly off-edge.

He placed down the bucket of water by the stairs, but realized that the bucket was practically empty. Mei-Rin could be heard from where he came from, following after him. Roxas didn't think he spilled any water… His fingers twitched, itching to do something that he hadn't done in a long time. He quickly summoned his blade and fired a blizzard and fire spell in rapid succession at the wooden bucket to make water. He should learn a water spell. And maybe rename that thunder spell 'lightning' while he was at it.

Mei-Rin turned at the corner with a new bucket of water, and Roxas quickly dispersed his blade behind his back. He knew when to keep secrets. And if Sebastian being a demon was a secret, then his abilities were a secret as well. He smiled as charismatically as he believed he could. "Mei-Rin, you don't mind me helping, do you?"

She shook her head as she place down the other bucket on the other side of the stairs. "I understand that this is something that you need to do." She raised her own ragged cloth. "So we can work together!"

Roxas grinned. "Thank you!"

* * *

><p>"Please just go outside, Lord Roxas."<p>

"But - "

Sebastian sighed. "Thank goodness I had to go fetch the tea; who knows how much damage you two would have done to the stairs."

"Lord Roxas!" Roxas turned to Mei-Rin, and he guessed that Sebastian would supposedly disapprove of the informalities between them. She bowed low. "I'm sorry! We were accidentally using shoe polish!"

"I'm sorry!" Roxas bowed his head in shame. "I thought that that was what was needed to be done!" Wasn't she supposed to be the expert in these things?

Sebastian sighed once more. "Please just go outside, Lord Roxas. Mei-Rin, please carry on with your other chores. I shall fix this mess."

"But what about - " He looked down the hall where Sebastian had came from before turning to Mei-Rin in concern.

The maid bowed again. "Please do not worry on my account, Lord Roxas. It was my fault. Feel free to go outside and admire the gardens."

"Yes, please, Lord Roxas. You have yet to have been to the gardens save just before you fell ill." For that tea party that ruined everything.

"Ah…fine." Roxas turned and abandoning the two made his way out the front door to admire the grounds. Closing the door gently behind him, he remembered that there was a passage from the front and back yard, so he descended down the front steps leaning towards the right to search for the black gate hidden by the vines.

It took him some time, but eventually his fingers brushed against the tracings of a wooden door. Finally finding it, he pulled on the handle to find it locked. Not a problem. He switched out his keyblade and unlocked the gate and quickly sneaked inside, closing it shut behind him and banishing the blade from whence it came.

The first sight that he saw was the gardener snipping away at the bushes happily, just snipping and snipping until there was practically nothing left and were left with the trunk and branches with very few leaves. The gardener…Finny, Roxas thinks his name is, took a good look at it, nodding with acceptance before moving onto the next bush. Scissors ready in hand, soon Finny began to snip once more.

As he was snipping, the various leaves and bits of branches flying in the air, Roxas hesitantly called out, "Um, excuse me?"

Finny momentarily halted, turning slowly to the blond and his mouth transformed into a wide grin. He dropped the scissors and was next to Roxas a few seconds later, grabbing his hand and shaking it furiously while bowing slightly. "It's a great honor to finally meet you, Lord Roxas! I don't know if you know me, but I'm Finny and I'm the gardener around here. I've mostly been outside here, and…usually Sebastian takes you out to the woods. But it's nice to meet you!"

Ow, ow, ow! This guy had a strong grip! He fought back a wince but Roxas' return smile was starting to wane as his hand actually began to hurt slightly very uncomfortably. He must have shown the discomfort on his face as Finny quickly released his hand and backed away slightly, bowing low.

"I-I'm sorry! Please forgive me; sometimes when I'm excited I forget my own strength." He scratched his head as he laughed nervously.

Roxas just shook it aside. "Please do not worry about it; it's nice to finally meet you, Finny." He smiled softly at him. Finny grinned widely back and Roxas found himself a few inches off the ground and the breath pushed out of his lungs as he was suddenly in a hug with the gardener that only lasted a few moments before he was released. He quickly worked to get back his oxygen, and missed a little of what Finny was saying.

"…do for you, my lord?"

Oh…Oh! "Do you need any assistance, Finny? I have some free time and am not so sure how to spend it."

Finny looked scandalous. "And you would like to spend that free time helping me with the garden?"

"Uh…yes?"

Luckily, Finny was just surprised as soon he just grinned. "You're one odd noble, Lord Roxas. Whatever were you doing before having reached the Phantomhive household?"

Roxas widened his eyes. "I, uh…" Fuck!

Finny widened his own eyes. "Oh gosh, I'm so sorry! That was terribly rude of me!" He bowed low, and Roxas heard him mutter under his breath, "Sebastian's going to kill me," before he said aloud, "Please forgive my incompetence, my lord."

Well thank Kingdom Hearts he wouldn't have to answer that. "O-oh, don't worry about it. And, please. Just call me Roxas."

Finny took a big sigh of relief. "Well, okay, Roxas." He grinned. "Would you like to help me in the garden?"

Roxas took his own sigh of relief. "Yes please!"

* * *

><p>"Please just go inside, Lord Roxas."<p>

"But - "

Sebastian sighed as he pushed up the bangs off his face and took a good look at the two blonds in front of him, one covered head to toe in dirt and the other soaking wet. "Thank goodness I wanted to check on the yard work, who knows how deep you two would have dug up the yard."

"I'm sorry, Lord Roxas." Finny laughed nervously as he bowed to both the butler and the newest master of the house, squeaking all the while. He addressed the butler, "We somehow got invested in creating a lake if the young masters ever decide to take a dip to cool off."

"…All because I said I was thirsty," Roxas added off-handedly as he looked back to the seven feet hole they managed to dig up after finishing up with the greenery, which were all similar to the bushes that Finny worked on before the blond arrived.

"And you've ruined your clothes." Sebastian removed a brush from his inside breast pocket from his jacket and dusted off the excess dirt on the blond's nose, making Roxas widen his eyes and jump back behind Finny as a built-in instinct. Sebastian's malicious grin was only for a moment but Roxas sworn he saw the amusement from the blond's terror in those crimson eyes. That was close, much too close. He faintly heard Sebastian say, "What would Lady Elizabeth say?"

"I'll wash them!" Finny volunteered, taking a hold of Roxas' hand and removing his robin egg blue vest. He would have taken more but Roxas quickly raised his hand.

"Please, it's fine, I'll wash them myself." He held out his hand for his vest which was quickly handed back to him. "I'll go inside and look for Mei-Rin to show me where the cleaning supplies are."

"I'll come with - "

"You'll stay here with me, Finny." Sebastian was smiling to hide his annoyance. "I'll need your help with this project."

Roxas started to walk back inside, to enter from the back door, when he turned back and gave Finny a small wave. When Finny gave him a big wave in return, he made his way inside.

* * *

><p>"Hmm, now where would Mei-Rin be?"<p>

Roxas wanted to make a quick stop back to his room and change, but it was such a big mansion. Was he ashamed to admit that he was lost? Yes. But did he know when to give up? No.

So let bygones be bygones and skip changing as Roxas continues wandering around the mansion for Mei-Rin as he tracked dirt all over the carpet.

"Woah!"

Roxas jumped as he was too focused on whether to make a left, a right, or just continue. He turned to the new voice.

"Say, you do know that you're tracking dirt, right?" The man…Roxas thinks his name was Bard - he recognized the cigarette - took a closer inspection to the floor. "It's not much, but it's added work on Mei-Rin's part."

Mei-Rin! "Do you know where Mei-Rin is, please?" Roxas asked, really wishing that he dusted himself outside so that the maid wouldn't have extra work. He had to inhale his breath and try his hardest not to cough in the man's face. "I want to wash my clothes."

Bard was about to reply when a loud grumble erupted from Roxas' belly. The blond blushed. "A-ah, I'm sorry, I didn't eat much at lunch…" He did not want to remember lunch just yet thank you.

"Tell ya what." Bard placed his arm over Roxas' shoulder, picking him up and wrapping him in his apron. He tossed his cigarette in a nearby trash bin. "I'll give you some clothes so that you won't track any more dirt, and I'll whip you something to eat."

"B-but - "

Bard lifted him up bridal style, making the blond blush deeply in his arms as the rugged American looked down at him and began walking. "You're the new master of the house - Lord Roxas, right?"

"Y-yes?" Roxas squeaked, still smelling the cigarette on the man's breath. "B-but please just call me Roxas."

Bard laughed. "Ah, yes, Mei-Rin told me that you wanted to drop the formalities and that you wanted to help the young master when she stopped by the kitchen. Sure, I can call you Roxas. You may already know, but I'm Bardroy - but Bard's just fine - and I'm the cook here." He added under his breath, "If only Sebastian would even let me cook for the young master." He looked to Roxas. "But I'll be sure to fill you up!"

"A-ah, thank you…" Roxas didn't know what else to reply to that.

"And change clothes." They walked inside into a room and Bard placed him down on the floor and Roxas found himself in the kitchen. Bard walked over to a closet nearby where he kept his extra chef jackets and aprons. He pulled on that was getting too small on him and handed it to the blond. "It's not much, but I'll have to do while I make you something. Any requests?"

"Sea-salt ice cream," Roxas found himself answering softly as he took the handed clothes, but quickly shook his head. "I mean, anything's fine. Whatever can be provided at your own convenience." He looked around and spotted another door. "Can I…?"

"Ah, not that one." Bard pushed him to the one opposite. "I need the pantry, but the ammunition closet would do."

Roxas was a little concerned. "…Ammunition…?"

"To cook the food with!" Bard readied his arm as he grabbed a ladle. "I'm gonna cook you up something so quick and delicious that by the time you're done changing it'll be ready."

"O-okay…"

"And maybe we can cook something up for the young master," Bard added, and noticed when Roxas immediately lit up.

"O-okay! I'm going to go change now!" Quickly he scampered off to the ammunition closet to swap clothes, shutting the door behind him. Bard's eyes lingered on where the blond was for a few moments before he went off to work.

"I heard that Lord Roxas was calling for me?" Mei-Rin called from the door leading from the hall. "Finny's with Sebastian for the final preparations. And he's getting yelled at for digging up the yard so he probably won't make it." She stepped inside and watched Bard chop up some cabbage, potatoes, and an onion and placed a pot next to the skillet with the sizzling ground beef. "Oh! Whatever are you making?"

"The young master was right," Bard said quietly as he placed the veggies inside the pot. "The Lord Roxas is not used to his new noble lifestyle. Heck, I'm still not even used to it! I'm always on edge and feel like I have no time to take a breath and relax. But I'm going to take my time with this dish, for the other master's sake."

"That was why we were told to treat Roxas as if he were but a commoner, but we were to know our place," Mei-Rin replied as she watched and helped out, mixing the meet and placing in some salt and pepper. "I…am really curious on what he did before he ended up here, but again, it's not our place to know."

Bard said as he reached for the skillet and added the meat to the veggies, "No, but perhaps in time he will share it with us. He's…almost like the opposite of the young master. The young master is so headstrong and cold, while the lord is shy and warm. It's…a nice contrast of opposites. I hope that this charade can soon be done and over with so that Lord Roxas can get used to his new home."

"Shh, what if he can hear us?" Mei-Rin worried, looking around. "Speaking of which, where is Lord Roxas?"

Bard continued to mix the food until everything was distributed. "He's in the soundproof ammunition closet," he said, tilted to it with his head. "I know that noble clothing is confusing, so you may want to check in on him." He raised the wooden spoon to his lips for a taste test. "Wait, check this out first, I'm not so sure on the flavors."

Mei-Rin turned back and tried a bit of the food to be served to their newest master. "It's great, hard to believe that an American can make such great Bubbles and Squeak."

"What kind of name even is that?" Bard retorted as he moved the pot to the table, grabbing three bowls and spoons. Mei-Rin simply laughed as she made her way to the closet and Bard began to pour the food.

Mei-Rin knocked on the door. "Lord - I mean, Roxas? Are you alright?" She placed her ear to the door.

Hearing a distinct 'help me please', she took hold of the doorknob, turned it and pushed gently to find the blond mixed in fabrics with his body contorted in such a way that Mei-Rin knew he was very, very flexible and fit. But of course, Mei-Rin knew his body more than anyone, perhaps even more than Roxas himself. Even if she could not after all this time understand his hair. She giggled softly at the scene and helped a blushing lord out of his noble clothes picked out by the young master's fiancée and into plain chef clothes.

After they got outside, Roxas bowed to her in thanks. "Thank you, Mei-Rin, I don't know how these clothes work." And Sebastian sure as hell wasn't going to help him after all this time. Roxas still got shivers from the demon's caresses of his body. He unconsciously shivered at that moment, but Mei-Rin paid it no mind as the maid shook her head for the thanks that was unnecessary. She grabbed the dirty clothes before she brought him to the table and the three began to eat the strange peasant dish that is Bubbles and Squeak.

They ate in silence - because if Roxas wasn't going to speak then neither were anyone else.

And as they were almost finished with their meals, however, there was one thing that the cook needed to know.

"How is it?" Bard asked, both servants looking to the blond for an answer.

"How's…what?" Roxas asked back, confused. He continued to eat, albeit more slowly.

"Does this…" He raised the bowl then placed it back down. "comfort you?"

"Uh…" Being not from this world Roxas did not know what he was being served was peasant food and was still unaware of the fact that the servants were trying to make his assimilation into the Phantomhive household as smoothly as possible. So he just answered, "…Yes?"

The two servants took a big sigh of relief as Roxas just finished his last spoonful, bowl empty. "Thanks for the food!" he declared.

The food here was much better than there. They would always cook in shifts - Roxas not spending enough time long enough in the organization to get to that level - but he always knew that Saïx, Lexaeus, and Marluxia cooked the best meals that were always different. Axel's was okay - just too spicy in his opinion. Xemnas didn't cook, Xigbar could care less and usually made spaghetti, and Xaldin just served pizza. Vexen treated dinner as an experiment and uneaten food was usually thrown in the radioactive disposal bin and pizza was called again. Zexion simply served finger sandwiches - great for reading and drinking tea, he said. Demyx couldn't cook at all and they went pack to pizza _again_. Luxord cooked a lot of food - like a Vegas buffet, he told Roxas once - but it wasn't great. And Larxene refused to cook because of stereotyping women to cook or something like that. Roxas assumed that Xion didn't cook either, under the same situation as his.

"Did you like it?"

He smiled. "It was delicious; thank you." He was about to get up and place his dishes in the sink as he did when with the Organization when Mei-Rin made a grab for his arm.

"Please, Lor - Roxas," she corrected herself as she grabbed the dirty dishes. "Let me handle that as you cook something for the young master."

"Really?" He turned to Bard, eyes betraying his excitement. He knew that Ciel liked sweets - he did too - so maybe they can bake a cake or something that were always served for dessert or during tea.

"Sure!" Bard opened a cupboard that revealed the home of various books of the culinary arts. He pulled out a cookbook of various foods. "What would you like to create?"

"Hmm…" Roxas shook his head as he grabbed another cookbook, this one more pastry oriented. He flipped through it before just putting back in the shelf. "Can I try making something on my own?"

Bard blinked, but smirked and nodded as he put back the other book in the shelf. "I don't see why not."

* * *

><p>"Please let me clean everything, Lord Roxas."<p>

"But - "

"Please, I insist." Mei-Rin took the various bowls and spoons as Bard took a swipe of one of the cookies that Roxas managed to create, biting into it.

The man widened his eyes. "Wow that's salty!"

"Wait for it!" Roxas begged, watching the man's face very closely to know whether or not he has failed in his attempt. He dusted off the flour that caught onto his sleeve from the new clothes that Mei-Rin grabbed for him while the cookies were baking.

Bard's eyes softened, then stared at the cookie as if it was an oddity. "And…now it's sweet."

"Sea-salt cookies!" Roxas exclaimed, checking the time and finding it to be a little over six. "Do you think that Ciel would like them?"

Mei-Rin took one and tried it. She savored it for a few moments before swallowing and answered, "Well the young master does enjoy his sweet things. Please take this." She grabbed a small bag and a sky-blue ribbon and handed it to Roxas. "We can go and give them to him!"

Roxas placed the cookies inside the bag before he tied it with the ribbon. "Okay! Where would he be?"

"Hmm." Bard and Mei-Rin looked at the clock. "I believe he would be in the garden," the chief asked as the maid added, "Please let us escort you."

"Okay." He smiled softly as he took the bag of cookies and followed the two down the hall and out to the gardens where he was only a few hours ago. He reached out for the door but Mei-Rin and Bard insisted that they open it for him. After a few moment, he reluctantly agreed and was surprised when the two opened the mahogany glass doors that were covered in a mix of dark midnight and sky blue silk,

It had completely transformed from the short time he had been in the kitchen. The hole he and Finny had dug was completely transformed to be a small pond and everything was decorated in lights and lanterns. The various flowers and trees were transformed into blooming sakura blossoms as well as roses of various shades, the nature defying blue and black being included. The fireflies added more light to the area as Roxas stepped out and found the staircase also wrapped in the silk ribbons by the door, and there were a few tables covered in white underneath the blanket of twinkling stars painted across the swirling blue and black canvas that made the sky.

"You were unable to fully enjoy your beautillion ball," a familiar voice called from behind him, and a quick turn of heels revealed for that to be from the Ciel Phantomhive whom has made himself scarce for the past ten days. Roxas dropped the bag of cookies but Sebastian quickly caught it and made it back to his place with no one the wiser. "I know that it's kind of late to do this, but figuring out how to make everything work with my hectic schedule delayed this." He held out his hand and smiled sincerely.

"Welcome to the Phantomhive household, Roxas."

Hesitantly, Roxas reached for it and sincerely smiled back. The Phantomhive servants, including that demonic butler of Ciel's watched from afar as Ciel pulled the blond in and the two began to dance, Sebastian taking out a violin and playing a whole orchestra for them to dance to as Ciel led and Roxas followed one of the dances that Sebastian had taught him in the week of silence between the two.

And for the first time since the two had met, they knew that even though there were to be many complications from this business relationship, many questions from this inclusion of family ties, and many sad memories of the past with previous associates that now believed the other was gone from the worlds, they felt - if only in that moment - that there would be no regrets.

* * *

><p>AN: Okay I'm out until I'm done with this game. Reviews would be lovely and affects the status of the next chapter. Thanks for reading and have a good day!


	9. Dusk in Twilight Town

QVR: Okay, _now _Roxas is an official member of the Phantomhive family.

A/N: Anon replies! Thanks so much for reviewing! I love you and all my reviewers! Hence the update on this day.

mockery: I hope the wait was worth it from all the other nonsense i was going through. I'm happy you think I got my characterization right, it's something that's very important to me.

duel wilder 15: Both series are rather angsty and i kinda wanna just joke around before the serious things come (if they ever were to - I am being rather random with this fic).

I beat 3D a week ago… OH MY GOD 3D MESSED UP MY CHARACTERIZATION FOR THESE PEOPLE SO MUCH WTF.

…Whatever.

So it being AkuRoku Day and stuff… Update! Think of this as a bonus thing to celebrate this day since I dropped one of my planned AkuRoku fics, this being the last one of this year instead. What an improvement from last year. It's not a lot (started at 9:15 PM), but I suppose it'll count as a continuation to the story - even if it's rather depressing. My other AkuRoku fics were pretty fluffy, so this'll balance it out.

With about four minutes left as I type this... Happy AkuRoku Day everybody!

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><p><em>Chapter Nine: Dusk in Twilight Town<em>

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><p>Roxas couldn't sleep. He felt uncomfortably warm, even with that giant chunk of ice he had cast with his Blizzaga spell he had cast just thirty minutes ago. He twisted and turned in his bed, staring at the clock and watched it chime five times without him getting a wink of sleep in between the hours of eleven and now five. He watched the sun start to rise, making the sky a mix of pink, purple, and light blue.<p>

He could feel it. Today was going to be an awful day.

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><p>Ciel tapped the side of his plate with his fork as he watched his newest servantbrother from the corner of his visible eye. Roxas sighed, mixing around the corn around his plate, but not bringing it to his lips. He just poked and poked at it, staring at the yellow bits as if it were the answer and problem to everything.

The Earl couldn't take it any more. He stood up from his seat, slamming his hands on the rosewood table. "Roxas, what is the matter? Your depression is starting to get to me and I'm not liking it one bit."

Roxas blinked, and slowly stood up straight, not expecting for the earl to exclaim such a thing. "I'm…I'm sorry?"

This did not appease the lord. "You will be if you do not tell me what is the matter."

The blond sighed. "It's really nothing, Ciel. Just…" He got up from the table, pushing his uneaten plate of food aside. "I have a lot on my mind. Sorry, Sebastian, but I don't believe I am well enough for any lessons today and will spend the day in my room. No need to send me anything. If you would excuse me." He left without another word.

Ciel sat back in his seat - still hungry but no longer holding an appetite. "What on earth is his problem?" he fumed.

"I think the proper terminology, my lord, would be what _isn't _on earth is his problem," Sebastian corrected.

The Earl turned to his butler, frowning. "Explain."

"My lord, Roxas hasn't been here for very long. Perhaps he is homesick."

"Home…sick…" Ciel got up, pushing away his own plate of unfinished food. "I suppose I'll just give him his space for today. You as well. I'll go ahead and finish my work then." Ciel left to go back to his study. There wasn't anything the earl could do but wait this out.

Which irked him more than anything.

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><p>Roxas sighed as he left the dining room, reaching into his pocket to remove a singular keychain of a flame red chakram he made of various synthesizing resources he had found on his journey and was left over from before he could hand it to the moogle. He closed his eyes and squeezed it tightly, bringing it close to his chest.<p>

"I'm sorry," he whispered, tears threatening and falling down his cheeks. "I'm so very sorry…Axel."

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><p>Axel sneezed, moving his hand to grab a tissue. But before he could do so, someone handed him the box. He looked up to find familiar blue eyes but on the wrong face. "Oh, thanks, Xion." He took one and blew into it, incinerating it when he was done.<p>

"It's…not problem at all," Xion breathed, smiling warmly. "Are you sick?"

She looked pale, but Axel didn't care. He shook his head coldly, not looking at her. "No, someone must be talking about me."

It came out barely audible, but the name still stabbed Axel in the chest. "Roxas?"

Axel froze. "Don't even say stuff like that, it's not funny."

Xion grabbed onto his cloak. "Axel, wait, listen -"

"I've already heard it from Xigbar," the redhead interrupted, holding out his hand to cut her off. "I've seen the grave. I…I was the one who burned him. I would know if Roxas was still alive."

"Axel -"

"Don't want to hear it." He got up from the white bench. "In fact, I don't want to even see you. I only hung out with you because Roxas was so insistent on it. But since he's gone, I no longer have to pretend. If you know what's good for you, you better stay away from me." And he left.

Xion raised her hand to try and stop him, but he was too far and it hurt to even move her arm. She pulled it back to her person. "…You don't mean that," she whispered. "It just hurts because Roxas is gone." She gasped as she held her chest, the pain unbearable. Xion bit her lip as she hardened her eyes on the floor. "Why Roxas? Why would you do this?"

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><p>Roxas just lay in his room, not having the strength to do anything today. He wasn't hungry, he wasn't bored, he was just…tired. Tired enough to not do anything but not tired enough to sleep. Which was odd, since he didn't get any sleep last night.<p>

But he just couldn't find the strength to do anything, not even summon a new block of ice to keep in cool in his room.

Honestly, he found himself rather liking the warmth, and yet at the same time he hated it.

It was a horrid reminder of what he had done, of what he had given up.

_"Roxas, let's go eat ice-cream together. To celebrate."_

He found himself getting up from his bed and pulling the curtains to cover his room in darkness, going to his laundry basket - luckily Mei-Rin hadn't come to pick up his laundry yet - and grabbed the black pajamas he was sure was made from the same material as his Organization cloak. He placed them on before making sure that his door was locked as he stabbed his fingers into his hand, and tried his hardest to do something.

He held out his hand and tried his best to summon a portal.

To his surprise, it actually worked.

Stifling a laugh, he walked through - not even bothering to take any necessary precautions before hand.

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><p>When Roxas managed to get out of the Corridor of Darkness, he gave a mass sigh of relief when he recognized his surroundings, the soothing colors of the eternal orange-red sky as he found himself in an alley-way next to a fence.<p>

He let out the laughter he held back in the Phantomhive Manor. "I…I made it…"

He was in Twilight Town.

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><p>Axel didn't know why he was here, why he was gazing out into the sunset on the top of the Clock Tower in Twilight Town. Why he wanted to torture himself as he left his untouched ice cream melt in between his gloved hands and fall to the ground several stories below him. He didn't even care if it hit anyone, too emotionless to care.<p>

Heh, what was he kidding? Nobodies didn't even had hearts anyway.

He looked to the side of him, where he should've seen a familiar blond eating away at his ice cream, and the two - maybe three if Xion was around - would talk about their day and mindless chatter.

But it wasn't mindless chatter. At least, not Roxas'.

Roxas' topics would consist of the amazing wonders he had seen on his missions, of the new worlds that were no longer new to Axel but the redhead still found himself rather surprised from what Roxas had seen that particular day.

Axel bit his lip, quickly raising his hand to use the ice cream as a distraction, but found himself biting on the popsicle stick, it having completely melted without him having a taste.

He tossed the stick on the side, before just sighing and summoning a portal to go back to the Castle. It was starting to get pretty late anyway.

"It…just isn't the same without him."

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><p>Roxas made his way to the Central Station, about the climb the steps to get to the Clock Tower with his bag of sea-salt ice cream he managed to get in Market Street. Thank Kingdom Hearts that he left his munny pouch in his pocket, or else he would have been in deep trouble. He only had enough for one, Ciel having taken some for study ("What on <em>earth? <em>Diamond-shaped gold?"), but one was better than nothing.

When he climbed the steps up to the Station, he felt something drop in his hair, but didn't bother to check, not caring as he rushed to climb to the top of the Tower.

When he got there, he took his usual spot, where Axel would have sat on his right and occasionally Xion on his left, where they would talk about their day. He sat down, taking the ice pop from the bag and unwrapping it before popping it in his mouth, savoring the flavor. How he missed it so.

But…it was more salty than sweet today. Strange.

Roxas lifted his hands to his eyes to find tears streaming down his cheeks, some falling down into his ice cream but most falling down to the ground. He took out the barely eaten ice cream out of his mouth and stared at it for a few moments, nothing particularly filling his mind.

He dropped the uneaten treat down to his side, next to a slightly damp popsicle stick. Getting up, he stabbed his hand with his fingernails once more and tried his hardest to summon a portal.

At first, it didn't work, and Roxas was just about to go into a panic attack before the swirls came to life. He looked back to the sunset one last time.

"It…it just isn't the same without him."

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><p>"Ah, Lord Roxas. What a surprise. You haven't let your room all day. Are you well enough for dinner?"<p>

"Sebastian." Roxas gave a weak smile. "Y-yeah, I think I'll be fine. What's for dinner?"

"Something that was brought from India, just thought it would be interesting. How spicy do you like your food?"

"Spi…cy?" Axel…liked spicy food. Roxas didn't.

"I plan to make a curry dish. I know that the young master dislikes spicy food, but I have yet to figure out your palliate."

"Um…" Roxas smiled, shaking his head before looking up to the butler. "Yeah, I love spicy food. Can't wait to try it."

"Glad to see you're out of your funk, Roxas," Ciel called from the door of his study. "Sebastian, is dinner ready?"

"By the time you get to the dining hall, it will be. If you would excuse me." Sebastian disappeared. Ciel started his walk to the dining hall, Roxas falling into sync behind him but shortly catching up to be beside him.

As they reached the door of the dining hall, Ciel paused. "Roxas, are you okay now?" he asked, showing off less concern than he really felt.

Roxas shook his head. "No." He smiled at the earl. "But I will be."

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><p>Xion found herself chucking madly as she got her newest assignment from Saïx, taking the envelope and making sure she had all her belongings as she readied herself for her latest mission.<p>

Direct orders from the Superior himself: Make sure that Roxas was still alive and if he was, to bring him back alive. By any means necessary.

She coughed, a black splatter on her glove.

Before it was too late.

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><p>AN: I have a general idea of where this is going…Kingdom Hearts wise. But really it's the Kuroshitsuji aspect of it so… lol I quoted pokemon. Thanks for reading and happy AkuRoku Day everybody


	10. Balancing

Quick Recap: Ciel gives Roxas some space. Axel and Roxas are sad. Xion is planning something sinister. Sebastian is making curry. I wonder why. Not really. I know why. The question is did you know why previous chapter.

A/N: Hey guys, it's been a while. Figured for my bday I should post some xovers.

So I recently got some reviews concerning this fic, and I thought I should continue it and Supernatural. Anyway, sorry for not replying to reviews, life is really crappy to me right now and even this was hard to do. I'll get to them as soon as I can.

Special hugs to **Paxloria, Soul Vrazy, duel wilder 15, NatAngel Dark Wings, Guest, duel weilder 15** (thanks for reviewing twice!) **PhantomGirl17, TheFreakyKitty14, Gus Kinney The Prodigal Son, badassassin25, SisterofScarletDevil, Normal-is-boring-96, Xehanorto, JakDaxPeaceMaker, I' **(I'm sorry! Here's an update, I hope I don't disappoint you! You get an extra hug) and **JaxDaxPeaceMaker** again for reviewing! You guys rock!

Also. I'm going to ignore everything that happened in 3D. All the information that was revealed about the Nobodies will not be referenced in the fic. Great game though.

We good to go? Great!

Here we go…

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>Chapter Ten: Balancing<br>0-0-0-0-0-0-0

"Shoulders straight, lean back." Sebastian wacked the back of Roxas's head with a ruler. The blond winced, stumbling for a moment to keep balance, and looked over to Sebastian, who held no sympathy for him.

"This shouldn't be hard, Lord Roxas." Sebastian sighed. He smacked the ruler into his gloved hand. "From the beginning."

Roxas wanted to collapse to the floor. "Never mind the books I have to balance," he said. He tilted his head down, the books making a loud thump as they hit the carpet. "How am I supposed to dance without a partner?"

"Just let me know when you give up," Ciel called from across the room.

"With practice, Lord Roxas." Sebastian grinned as he picked up the books, stacked them, and placed them back on Roxas' head. "Now from the top."

"Screw this." Roxas shook his head, knocking the books back down. "This… this… this is impossible." He rubbed the back of his head and turned back to Ciel. "Alright. I give up."

He didn't even need to see Ciel grin wickedly before bringing his cup tea to his lips, taking a quiet sip. "Are you sure?" he asked, placing the cup on its plate.

Roxas nodded as he continued to massage his head. "Yeah, I'm sure."

"Very well." Ciel stood from the sofa. "Sebastian, go ahead and fetch it," he ordered with a wave of his hand.

Sebastian bowed. "Yes, my lord." Roxas groaned, not looking forward to what Sebastian was going to get from his room. But then again, anything was better than balancing five huge books on his head while ballroom dancing without a partner to stabilize him.

"Take all the time you need," Roxas yelled as Sebastian disappeared. He moved two of the heavy tomes with his foot and collapsed on the soft floor. Ciel quickly grabbed a plate, placed a raspberry scone from the large selection of breakfast pasties, and walked over to the blond, who was breathing heavily from exhaustion.

"What even is this about?" Roxas asked as Ciel pushed a book with his foot aside towards the shelf. Roxas picked himself up from the ground slowly, taking a moment to adjust. Without looking at him, Ciel held out the plate and Roxas took it gratefully. He gobbled it down quickly, starving after not having eaten for a few hours.

"Thanks," he said, holding out his hand underneath his chin to catch the crumbs before they fell onto the carpet.

Ciel looked away, and Roxas knew he was truly exhausted when he thought he saw a faint blush on the Earl's cheeks. "Don't talk with your mouth full," he scolded, turning back to face his faux-frère.

Roxas coughed, wiping his hands of crumbs. Ciel frowned as Roxas made a mad dash to the breakfast buffet, quickly pouring himself a cup of chai tea. The tea, having cooled considerably since it was brewed, soothed Roxas' throat. With the threat of choking gone, Roxas decided to take a seat and grab some sandwiches.

Ciel bit his lip as Roxas ate much slower this time. "You shouldn't have stuffed it all in one go," he scolded, keeping a close eye on the door. "But I shouldn't have forgotten the tea…" he trailed off and frowned. "How odd."

Roxas shook his head. "It's fine; your hands were full," he said, picking out another raspberry scone.

"Yeah…" Ciel said slowly. "Yes, my hands were full…"

Which they both knew wasn't true because one of Ciel's hands was on his hip. Ciel watched Roxas happily munched on his long overdue breakfast, mind refusing to think.

"I believe this would be suitable to your taste, young master?

Ciel suppressed the jump as Sebastian appeared behind him. "M-my taste? What are you implying, Sebastian?"

Sebastian bowed with a smirk. "My apologize. _Our _taste."

Roxas, distracted with his food, missed the stares his way from both master and servant – one lustful, the other embarrassed.

Sebastian said nothing more, allowing for Ciel to direct where their conversation will go. Ciel turned to face his butler, tsking in annoyance with his devilish grin of his. The conversation was dropped. His eye moved to the item in Sebastian's arms, grinning himself at the twinkling diamonds.

"Roxas," Ciel called. "Sebastian is back."

About to take another bite, Roxas dropped half of his scone back on his plate. He visibly blanched at the sight of the butler with _it._

Ciel snickered, amused at the blond's torment. "You agreed to it. Come along then; I shall be waiting for your swift return."

Begrudgingly, Roxas picked himself up and dragged himself to the pair. Sebastian bowed. "I will be happy to assist you, Lord Roxas." He placed his hand on the blond's shoulder. Roxas shivered.

Ciel was not amused at he watched them walk away.

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Roxas was already blushing when Sebastian helped him dress.

"Why did you have to pick this one?" Roxas asked as Sebastian wrapped the fabric around his waist.

"Contrary to your belief of your wardrobe," Sebastian replied as he smoothed out the satin. "This is the only one you have."

Roxas stared at himself in the mirror. "I don't know if that's a good thing or a bad one."

Sebastian paused. "Probably both."

Roxas nodded. "Probably both."

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"One, two, three." Sebastian began to play the violin.

Ciel held out his hand. "May I?" he said, grinning evilly.

Roxas couldn't keep eye contact. "Um... I…"

"Don't forget, you asked for this," Ciel reminded, spinning his wrist before holding it out for Roxas to take.

Roxas sighed, still blushing, as he took Ciel's hand and moved closer to the Earl. In order to compensate for the difference in height, Roxas was barefoot while Ciel was in heels. Not that anyone could see, the blond's feet hidden underneath his gown.

Wearing a crystal tiara on his head, Roxas swayed in a long, lacy, silky snow-white dress that almost touched to the floor. The light reflected the various diamonds that were stitched into the fabric, and he was accessorized with white fingerless gloves and a black choker around his neck.

Ciel continued to grin as he led the dance, effortlessly moving his feet to the melody of Sebastian's playing.

Roxas twirled easily, following Ciel's lead with a much better understanding than leading himself. As much as he hated to admit it, it was easier because he wasn't a leader, but a follower. Always a follower, yet to be a leader. His samurai did not count.

Regardless of his public status, Roxas knew that he was just another servant to the Ciel, fallen in line to his power.

Roxas bent his knees to spin under Ciel's raised hand. "How long is this going to be anyway?"

"I'll say when. This is just too amusing."

"H-hey!"

Ciel chuckled. Roxas was surprised on how light and cheerful it sounded, in contrast to the boy in front of him.

Distracted, - "Woah!" - Roxas took a misstep and tripped, bringing Ciel tumbling down with him. Sebastian immediately stopped playing to free his master from the tangled limbs and fabric.

Roxas was burning, and Ciel was as red as a tomato. "S-stop laughing, Sebastian!"

Sebastian smirked. "I'll say when. This is just too amusing."

Ciel pouted. "That's an order."

Sebastian frowned. "You're no fun, young master."

Ciel pushed himself up without Sebastian's help, using Roxas's head as leverage. He dusted himself off. "I don't care for your opinions, Sebastian." He spotted the small envelope in his butler's hand. "Anyway, I think it's time we get going. Roxas, do you care to come with us?"

"Only if I get to change first." Roxas picked himself up. "Where're we going?"

Ciel snatched the envelope in Sebastian's hand and waved it in front of Roxas's face as a response. "Into town. It's time for you to live up to your expectations."

Roxas nodded, determined. "Of course." He looked down at his silky white outfit.

"Just… just let me change first."

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A/N: Here's some fluff after the previous chapter. Plot picks up next chapter, whenever that is.

Thanks for reading!


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